Planning the 14th Section

(17th Sep 2007 - 16th Nov 2008)


Fiji , Tuvalu , Kiribati , Naru , Marshal Islands , Micronesia , Guam , Palau , Taiwan , South Korea , North Korea , Papua New Guinea , Solomon Islands , Vanuatu , Samoa , American Samoa , Tonga and New Zealand
 
   

 

21/8/07 We are in Bangkok, Thailand, for ten days on our way back to Australia. Our hotel has wi/fi as we wait for the dentist to make a crown for Kay's molar. The mamoth task of planning to link the thirteen island countries of the Pacific begins in ernest. The airlines to many countries are too small to carry the motorcycle or are too expensive. Shipping movements are often as infrequent as more than monthly. The challenge is to avoid being stuck on a small attol country for months and to try to minimise the high costs of moving us and the motorcycle in the region. Internet research is our main avenue but with small isolated communities there are not the facilities nor perceived need for extensive web pages. One shipping company, Kyowa Lines, visits most of the countries, but infrequently. Small populations and little export trade reduces the need for vessels. Optomistically we might be able to either do a couple of rapid visits, getting the motorcycle off a vessel for the day then resailing it on the same vessel, not too likely. It seems we will have to fly to most, if not all the countries. Freight ships are reluctant to take passengers because of insurance concerns. Islanders, if they go anywhere at all, tend to fly on small aeroplanes between countries. Planning a long time ahead to get discount air tickets seems impossible as shipping schedules are notoriously delayed. Hopefully the picture of a method to aproach the problem will evolve.

The scheduled departure date of 18/8/07 of our motorcycle from Sri Lanka has already been delayed to the 23rd, we wait and see.

15/9/07 The motorcycle arrived in Singapore and was transhipped, unloaded from one container and restuffed into another one. At least that is what the internet tracking stated. It left on the container ship Mol Mauao, on the 4th September, heading for New Zealand, due to arrive tomorrow. We have no knowledge of its future movements as the Mol Mauou returns directly to Singapore but as we fly out to Fiji on the 17th we will wait and talk to the agent on our arrival.

The three weeks in Australia have been spent with our children, catching up on their lives and planning the pacific trip. We have not progressed much with our route through the Pacific. We are currently in discussions with an air freight logistics company who may sponsor the motorcycles movement to a number of the countries. That would not only remove some expense but also a lot of the logistics, a tiresome part of this region. Hopefully it will come to our mutual advantage. Proceeding with our planning, one of the more difficult countries to visit is Nauru, a single isolated island on the equator. Its only connection with the outside world, one flight a week from Brisbane Australia, too small for the motorcycle, and a boat every month or more from Australia, no regular schedule. As an example, a visit would take a minimum of two months, one ship out, the next one back, little chance of onward flights or shipping to other destinations. Tuvalu is a similarly sized country, 10,000 people, connected with its nearest large neighbour, Fiji, two flights a week and shipping aproximately every three weeks. Part of the problem is the shipping is not out and back but the air connections are, meaning we have to return to our starting point and then fly to the next destination, an expensive exercise, Fiji to Tuvalu return is over $US 1000.00. As shipping generally does a loop to many countries it can take almost two loops to get to our next destination, so on a three week schedule it can take almost six weeks to the next country. We have had no luck in getting aproval to travel on any of the ships, now all container oriented.     

You can now move onto the first country of the fourteenth trip if you wish, Start Travelling

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