Maree's Manic Musings: Time is marching by......

......which means it is getting closer to Kaitlyn and I departing to go to Tuvalu to see Kerry. Ok ok now I know that some of you are still wondering where and what is Tuvalu so tonights blog is going to be devoted to Tuvalu....

The name Tuvalu means 'eight together', although the country is made up of 9 islands. The most southern island of Niulakita, however, is not permanently inhabited.

Tuvalu is one of the world's smallest independent nations, comprising nine low-lying coral atolls with a total surface area of 26 square kilometres dispersed over 1.3 million square kilometres of the central Pacific.

Formerly known as the Ellice Islands, Tuvalu became independent from the United Kingdom in October 1978 however they remain a part of the Commonwealth as they are a Constitutional Monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State. Kerry, Kaitlyn and I had the honor of being guests at Tuvalus 30th year of Independance Celebrations last year.

The map below shows where Tuvalu is in relation to Australia....

The island of Funafuti is the main island of Tuvalu and this is where Kerry is based. this is where the only way in or out by air is located and the bi weekly arrival of the plane, on Tuesdays and Thursdays is a major social event...everyone turns out for it....

Funafuti International Airport

The people are very friendly and are always ready with a smile and a nod. I should point out that in Tuvalu the main form of greeting is 'The Nod"....something you learn to master very quickly.

One thing that is immediately noticable as being absent is ATM's, there are no EFTPOS or Credit Card facilities anywhere withing Tuvalu. So everything is cash based. They do have their own currency however all Australian currency is also legal tender within the country. There are no 'shops' like Woolies, Coles, Target or Kmart. There is a thriving network of Fusi's which is the equivelant of our corner deli with food supplies coming in on a fairly reqular basis by shipping container. Fresh fruit and veg is not a sfreely available as here and fresh milk is not available at all. Powdered milk or UHT milk is the only source of milk available.

Tourist wise there are around 1200 visitors to the country each year.

The lifestyle is certainly like nothing that I had ever experienced before and I have to say I really did enjoy my last trip there. Nothing happens in a hurry and Kaitlyn got to experience a freedom of which she can't have here. I could let her play out the front knowing she was safe without myself or Kerry having to be there. If I had to name one thing I really missed it would probably be access to my scrapping stash. I managed to take over 350 photos while there for 2 weeks....so you can bet I will probably come back with even more photos this trip....it is a little piece of paradise on Earth.

For more info in Tuvalu check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuvalu . I'll leave you with a few more photos from Tuvalu......

Funafuti from the Air. Sunrise in Tuvalu