Weeks 9-12 Nearly ready to start the real work

 I've been busy the last few weeks and haven't updated the blog. I've had an assignment due, an exam, a week back in New Zealand, and the odd rugby international to watch.

Sunset across the Funafuti Atoll

But now we're almost ready to start the real work, which is the reason we're in Tuvalu. We've finished inspecting and repairing fifty potholes in the runway. This work amounted to nearly 400 square metres of temporary resurfacing placed, screeded and compacted by hand. Most of the work involved afternoon and night due to the planes leaving around 1 pm. Often, we would have our break around 6:30 pm to coincide with the 15-minute devotion time break at 6:45pm, but sometimes, we planned to finish around 8 pm and would work through without a dinner break. This meant a stoppage at 6:45 pm, machines turned off and lights out.

On the last evening of repairs, I recorded the local boys singing.

Devotion time on the runway

With the potholes finished, we turned our attention to our third barge load of aggregate, nearly 4,500 tonnes, that arrived a couple of days later. 

Bowen barge coming in on the high tide

First truckload of bags

Still more bags to come

Getting access to the bulk aggregate beyond the bags

View of Tug Warringa alongside the Bowen

The asphalt team arrived last Thursday, a week later than originally planned but just in time to lay a successful asphalt trial run. It took nearly two months to get the mobile asphalt plant assembled and running, ready for the trial. We have one more trial to complete, and then we will have the go-ahead to begin resurfacing work on the runway proper.

At the same time as we were unloading the barge and running the asphalt trial, we needed to collect our containers and dump truck from the Capitaine Kupe that docked late Friday afternoon.

Capitaine Kupe entering Funafuti Lagoon

Off-loading our dump truck

Making all three jobs that much more interesting was a tropical rainstorm that dumped nearly 80mm in 24 hours. This was the first significant rainfall in the last four weeks. 

Rainfall radar for the South Pacific

Rain forecast (time is UTC referred to as Zulu). Tuvalu is +12 hrs UTC

During the ship unloading, I noticed the stevedores cutting thin strips of flesh off two skipjack tuna and throwing the strips into the sea.

Watch a short video of Small fish at the port

I thought they were feeding the small fish but, they were salting their dinner. After they had nearly stripped the fish carcass about eight of them jumped into the water (fully clothed) and started eating the strips of tuna. Apparently, it's a thing in Tuvalu!

Local fishermen sell their catch on the roadside

Many locals buy fish.

I was curious to discover the most unusual thing in Tuvalu and found the site of "David's Drill." Charles Darwin's theory was that atolls grew from volcanoes. The theory explained how land masses could exist in oceans 4000m deep. How else could they form? After the average slope from the shoreline down to the bottom of the ocean is 27 degrees.

Seabed contours around Funafuti

Source: https://sig-public.gouv.nc/GEOREP/club_geomatique/2017/GT_donnees_geo_maritimes_22_06_2017/documents_references/GT_Exemple_Rapport_de_leve_CPS_Donnees_Geomaritimes_07_2017.pdf

The plan was to drill through the coral and find volcanic rock, but after nearly 340m, no rock was found. Subsequent analysis found rock at 600m below the surface.

Read more about it at https://iugs-geoheritage.org/geoheritage_sites/funafuti-atoll-tuvalu/

David's Drill

The plaque at David's Drill

I was treated to clear views of the southern tip of Funafuti on my last flight to Tuvalu. This area is part of the Turtle Conservation Area. 

The southern tip of Funafuti Atoll

Funafuti Atoll Conservation Area and beyond

I've added a trio of videos of my last flight to Tuvalu. One on landing from the south. Near the end of the video, you will see our overflow stockpile with bags of aggregates, making a couple of bins for bulk products and some of our bitumen containers. Each container has heating elements in the base to heat the bitumen so it can be pumped out.

Landing at Funafuti International from the south.

The next video shows the plane taxiing back to the terminal. Near the end of this video, the new hangar site can be seen between the two excavators.

Taxiing along the runway to the terminal

The last video shows the plane arriving at the terminal. Past the sports ground, Air Traffic Control Tower with a fire engine in attendance, and several Government buildings. The wingtip just misses the corner of the building as the plane does its final turn on the apron. That's why the man is standing there.