Nui
Tuvalu · 5 m
Description
Nui is the one island in Tuvalu where the everyday language is Gilbertese rather than Tuvaluan, the legacy of settlement from the Micronesian atolls to the northwest, and the difference is audible the moment the ship ties up. The atoll is a broken ring of twenty one islets around a shallow lagoon, with the village of Tanrake on Fenua Tapu in the southeast holding most of the five hundred inhabitants. The maneapa is where decisions are made, the lagoon is crossed by outrigger, and the reef flat can be walked for hours at low tide.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 2 to 5 days (optimal 3 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: June – September
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Nui lagoon and its twenty one islets
- Tanrake village on Fenua Tapu
- Gilbertese speech and the Micronesian inheritance
- Maneapa and the meetings of the island council
- Motupuakaka and the uninhabited motu
- Crossing the lagoon by outrigger
- Walking the lagoon reef flat at low tide
- Seabird colonies on the western islets
- Lagoon reef fishing from canoes
- Ship day and the workboats to Tanrake (monthly)