Getting to Tuvalu’s outer islands isn’t straightforward, but it is worth it
Island Hopping through Oceania - Tuvalu
We landed in Funafuti, the pocket-sized capital of Tuvalu, with no plans and nowhere to stay. However, there was a method to this madness: We needed extreme flexibility to have any hope of reaching Tuvalu’s outer islands. So, after passing through the diminutive airport with the other passengers, we crossed the road to the government building to see about a boat.
Tuvalu’s main road closes each time a plane lands
Reaching Tuvalu's outer islands is difficult
Tuvalu means ‘eight standing together’ in Tuvaluan and refers to the country’s eight main atolls and islands. Due to the difficulty of reaching the outer islands (they’re only accessible by intermittent supply boats), visitors to Tuvalu usually stick to the main island of Fongafale in the Funafuti Atoll. Home to most of the country’s population of approximately 11,000, Fongafale is built up and busy with zipping scooters and stray dogs.
With a whole week in Tuvalu, we arrived with the intention of seeing some of the rest of the country. But for this, we needed flexibility. However, our lack of accommodation bookings was still risky in a country with only a handful of accommodation options.
Having ascertained that the next supply boat to the outer islands wasn’t until the following week, and feeling somewhat crestfallen, we booked into the dilapidated Funafuti Lagoon Hotel with its peeling paint, loose tiles scattered on the bathroom floor, and intermittent water supply.
Thankfully, the air-con worked (it’s a near-constant, humid, 30°C year-round in Tuvalu). So, once we had cooled off, we slowly made our way to the kaupule, or town council, to organise plan B: a boat to Funafala Islet for the following morning.
We got around Fongafale on foot, but most locals travel by scooter
A stay on Funafala Islet gives a taste of outer island life in Tuvalu
Funafala lies within the Funafuti Atoll, south of the main islet of Fongafale, and is home to just eight families. It’s a 30-minute boat ride from the capital but feels like a world away. After the tumultuous sea crossings of the Solomon Islands, we were happy to be dry and comfortable as we glided through the glassy lagoon without a wave in sight.
But even zipping through the protected lagoon, we couldn’t avoid a soaking. Halfway to Funafala, the surrounding islets disappeared in a near-solid block of water as the tropical clouds dumped their load directly on us. We slowed to a crawl as the fat droplets stung our eyes and faces, and all reference points vanished in the grey of the falling rain and the splashing surface of the lagoon.
The weather changes frequently in tropical Tuvalu
The tide was slinking out as we approached Funafala. Unable to reach the shore through the receding shallows, we waded up to the beach at the foot of the small village. The village council guesthouse, the only accommodation on the island, had seen better days. The torrential downpour we passed through on the boat had breached the roof and soaked into one of the mattresses. So, our first activity once we arrived was to rearrange the beds to avoid the drips from the ceiling as best we could.
Accommodation in Tuvalu is simple
Lunch arrived, and with no furniture except for the two beds, we sat on our soggy mattresses and ate the fish and rice off our laps. Later, we procured a table and chairs. From then on, we ate on the verandah overlooking the beach, with the islets of southern Funafuti stretching into the distance like a lush ribbon of green.
It was a lazy few days. We rocked in hammocks under the pandanus tree on the beach, feasted on fresh fish from the lagoon, fried breadfruit from the village tree, and mounds of cucumber (obviously in season) from the island garden. We worked out on the beach in the evenings and cooled off in the shallows, resplendent in the milky-orange sunsets.
Locals from Funafala Islet heading out to fish in the lagoon
In Tuvalu, you need to create your own entertainment
One day, we hitched a ride with some villagers going to another islet to collect shells for handicrafts. We drank fresh coconut juice with them before walking back along the beach and crossing the channel to Funafala at low tide.
Another day, we walked along the overgrown island road to the northern tip. It was hot and buggy, and despite its extreme narrowness, there was no breeze. But the expansive views of the skinny islets snaking north from the tip of Funafala made all the sweat and bugs on the walk worth it.
Tuvalu has endless miles of white sand beaches
Tuvaluans fish with nets at low tide in the Funafuti lagoon
Fongafale is referred to in Tuvalu as 'the mainland'
And then it was time to head north again and back to the bustle of the ‘mainland’, that overcrowded sliver of land in the vast Pacific. Excitingly, that also meant reuniting with our rucksacks, lost on the way from the Solomons by Air Niugini. Sadly, it turned out that only Rico’s had arrived, and I had to wait another two days until I finally had a change of clothes.
During our time in the capital, we explored on foot, heading one day to the southern tip and the next day to the rural north. The land at the island’s extremities narrowed to little more than the road’s width. There, a more traditional lifestyle emerged, with open-sided houses crouched just above the shoreline, pigs in the gardens, and family graves under awnings in the front yards. These graves were often used as seating or a handy platform to nap on in the heat of the day.
It’s possible to walk the entire length of Fongafale, Tuvalu’s main island, in a day
In Tuvalu, the international runway is also a massive sports ground
We walked the international runway in the evenings as locals filled the tarmac to play sports. At one end of the runway, we discovered a rusting open-air gym – the island’s only gym. There, old men played an unfathomable game involving cards and colourful Lego pieces as the sun set across the lagoon. We narrowly avoided tetanus as we did our pull-ups on the rusty rig among them. But the main attraction of Funafuti is probably watching the plane land.
Funafuti’s Rt.Hon.Sir Toaripi Lauti International Airport is the only international airport in the world with public access to the runway. During the day, it’s unceasingly crossed by mopeds, cars, dogs, pigs, and people on foot. At night, it’s a massive sports ground.
Locals play sports on Tuvalu’s international runway in the evenings
And pigs wander lazily across during the day
International flights to Tuvalu cross the main road to reach the terminal
So, when a flight approaches, it’s a significant operation to ensure it is safe to land. First, the runway is cleared of litter and detritus, and then the sirens sound. Dogs are chased away, and the adjacent roads are closed. Crossing the runway is the only way to reach the far side of the island, so locals sometimes try to sneak across until they’re accosted by one of the flustered guards tasked with preventing trespassers.
As the plane comes into view, more sirens sound, and somehow, the wandering pigs and dogs seem to understand. To reach the terminal, the plane taxis across the main road, which remains closed for the next hour until the outgoing flight departs for Fiji.
On our final day, we watched all this in the shade of the National Bank of Tuvalu until, at the last minute, we were stamped out of Tuvalu and boarded the 12:20 pm flight back to Fiji.
This Leg
Days: 8
Flights: 2
Boats: 3
Islands: 4
Countries & Territories: 1
Total
Days: 35
Flights: 11
Boats: 16
Islands: 16
Countries & Territories: 5