Nede's Notes

 Another week and another celebration. This time it was Fiji's turn to celebrate independence. We all headed over to the Funafuti Lagoon Hotel for dinner and the ceremonies. The evening was presided over by the MC Peteli Paulo, who welcomed us all, and the special guest, Mr Teoni Faafou Paape. There were speeches, then the traditional kava ceremony, ending with the National Anthem and eating the cake. All hands in mixing the kava The special guest drinks kava Two wonderful Fiji Day sponge cakes Cutting the cake Watch us sing Fiji's National Anthem And now the cake. Traditional kava ceremony explained View from the roof of the Bowen's bridge looking North View from the roof of the Bowen's bridge looking South Panoramic view from the roof of the Bowen's bridge looking West This week's work has mainly involved preparing for our second barge load of aggregates from Fiji. The Warringa towing the Bowen takes around 4-5 days to get here from Lautoka. It normally makes ...

This week began with the opening of Parliament at 8:00 am. While an auspicious occasion for the Government it didn’t seem to capture the local inhabitant’s interest. However, we had an excellent overview of the Police Guard of Honour. Police Officer in ceremonial uniform Preparations had been happening all the previous week with maintenance and painting of the Women’s Centre. Each morning last week the Police would practice their drill from about 6:30 am. I guess so they could be ready for normal duties at 8:00 am. His Excellency, Tofiga Vaevalu Falani, formally opened Parliament and presided over the remainder of the event. Opening of Tuvaluan Parliament by the Governor General By the time the plane arrived at 11:00 am, you couldn’t tell anything had happened, the flag pole and stand had been trucked away and the hall returned to normal use. Police Guard of Honour on Airport Apron While the island has probably, a dozen or so “ maneapa ,” (halls) to accommodate events it seems the Wome...

The early plane ride to Naisori, Suva was bumpy but short, only 30 minutes. The baggage carousel must be the shortest one in the world. Barely long enough for a trolley load at about 6m long. But it worked. The baggage handlers throw the bags on one side and passengers grab them off the other. Baggage Carousel at Naisori International Airport, Suva My trip to Tuvalu was uneventful as opposed to last Saturday’s plane. Having been on the island for four days I positioned myself for a closeup shot of the plane landing, only it didn’t. Watch the video of the dog causing the plane to go around It went around twice, once for a dog on the runway and once due to heavy rain. The third time lucky was the highlight for the local kids who had gathered to watch. Watch a Fiji  Airways ATR72-600 landing Much of my week was about introductions and enquiries. We were supposed to have already started work but the boat carrying our gear got turned away and we had to wait until Saturday for it to dis...