This trip was a short but memorable 11-day round trip that visited four new countries and made quite an impression on 24-year-old me. Here is the itinerary of my trip in 1999.
January 13: Departed my home city of Melbourne overnight, flew on Air Nauru to Nauru via Brisbane. The inside of the Air Nauru plane was partially converted into a combi-freighter, with bouquets of flowers stashed onto the seats among other cargo. Apparently, someone important on Nauru had died, and floral tributes were on the way for the funeral on the next day. Back then, Air Nauru flew its one plane to Melbourne once per week.
January 14: Arrived in Nauru at about 5:30am, stayed in Nauru all day (with an extensive tour of the island), then left for Guam in the evening when Air Nauru’s plane came back again. The phosphate mine (or what was left of it) featured extensively.
January 15: Guam – Hired a car and drove around the south of the island.
January 16: Guam – visited Tumon and the tourist strip, flew to Rota in the evening. It was an international island-hopping flight in a 30 seat plane that took only 30 minutes.
January 17: Rota – spent all day looking around the island, then flew back to Guam in the evening. Driving on the wrong side of the road was getting easier by now – I felt less likely to cause a collision than a few days before.
January 18: Guam – visited Agaña, did some shopping, and, on my student budget, sampled some of those American fast-food chains we didn’t yet have in Australia. I left for Pohnpei in the evening.
January 19: Pohnpei – climbed Sokeh’s Rock, visited and walked around the town of Kolonia, drove around the island a bit. Drank Sakau (maybe a bit too much for a beginner) at night.
January 20: Pohnpei – I was taken on a tour to Nan Madol and Kepirohi Waterfall in a small boat out on the lagoon. Outboard motor needed restarting a few times as we bobbed around out in the lagoon, but made it back to eat delicious mangrove crab at South Park Hotel’s restaurant.
January 21: Pohnpei – Visited Liduduhniap Waterfall and drove around the island circle road to visit Palikir (the capital of Federated States of Micronesia).
January 22: Pohnpei – did some shopping for coconut products in the morning, then flew back to Nauru in the afternoon. Air Nauru was the friendliest airline I ever flew. With only one plane (at the time), the same crew went around and around all the time, and they got to know you after a few flights. Stayed overnight in Nauru.
January 23: Departed Nauru at lunchtime, flying to Brisbane, and then connecting with a domestic flight back to Melbourne.