Kiribati

Since we are off to Hawaii tomorrow, we felt it was fitting for our last country before we head out to be the one closest to Hawaii, enter Kiribati (even though it is about 1000 miles away).  

Now, it's actually pronounced Kira-Bass, despite the spelling telling you otherwise. And this thing is massive, not so much in the total area. Total landmass is about 313 square miles, but the 33 low laying islands (if you can even call them islands) are spread out in an area about the size of the United States. 

There's not much besides coral atolls to this country. It's not a tourist destination, it's more of a 'rough it' kind of place. It's more known for what it has to offer in it's waters than on it's land. 

It's home to the Phoenix Islands Protected area, the largest marine protected area in the Pacific Ocean. You'll find plenty of fish, seabirds, crabs and turtles there. 

Christmas Island is the largest coral atoll in the world. It's called 'the last untouched reef in the world', and there you'll find pufferfish, parrotfish, angelfish and plenty of colorful fish swimming around the rainbow colored coral. 

Our landmark is even underwater: in Tarawa, the capital, you'll find shipwrecks from WWII. Diving to see them is one of the most common attractions for the few tourists. 

The island groups straddle the equator, and until 1995, the International Date Line, when the government moved the line eastward to ensure it was always the same day everywhere in the country. 

Which, makes it's most western point (Christmas Island) the very first place to see the new year every year. (American Samoa is the last to see it), in case you were wondering. 

Our book did mention some cool birds, including the Bokikokiko, or reed warbler, which can only be found on Christmas Island and nowhere else in the world. 

The birds are ingrained into the culture of Kiribati, so much so that the islanders even have a dance to reflect the movement of the figrate bird. 

The boys made their postcards. 

Many of the islands people only eat fish, and coconut, or whatever they can grow. But on the bigger islands, in particular in Tarawa (the capital), the population is so dense they don't really have room to grow anything, so they import most of their food from Australia. Calib's postcard has a plane dropping food on the islands with the larger populations. 

Peyton's postcard features the various islands, but also the Kiribati warriors from the 17th and 18th centuries, who wore armor made from coconut fibers, and spiky helmets made from pufferfish. (Their weapons were made out of sharks teeth). 

Hayden meanwhile, noted all the water (it has the greatest water area within it's boarders of anywhere) and the birds. 

We had lunch, not dinner for Kiribati- and we just picked up these little Australian Boomerang Pies as a nod to the food flown in from Australia. 

Everyone was pretty happy with theirs, except Peyton. He was not a fan of his steak and potato pie. 

Next Up: It's vacation time! We'll be back mid-July with the next of our countries.