Yaren
The seat of government of Nauru, a coral island of 21 square kilometres just south of the Equator, where Parliament, the runway and the island's drinking-water well share one small district.
- Arrival
- Nauru International · INU
- From the airport
- Parliament House is just south of the runway
- Private jets
- Customs at INU; fuel by prior request
- Best time
- March to October
The city
A republic run from beside the runway.
Nauru has no official capital. The government works from Yaren, a district of 1.5 square kilometres in the south, where Parliament House, the ministries, police headquarters and the Australian High Commission stand just south of the airport. The whole island has 11,680 people (2021 census) and about thirty kilometres of road.
Independence from Australia came on 31 January 1968, and the Australian dollar is still the currency. Behind the coast, a century of phosphate mining has stripped four-fifths of the land and left the plateau known as Topside a field of coral pinnacles. Life happens on the green strip between that plateau and the reef, 150 to 300 metres wide, under coconut palms and pandanus.
- Moqua Well An underground lake that supplies most of the island's drinking water and gave the district its old name, Makwa.
- Naoero Museum The national museum, in the same district as Parliament and the airport.
- Japanese guns Wartime guns left from the occupation, which lasted from August 1942 to September 1945.
Arriving
A runway beside Parliament.
Nauru International is the only airport on the island, a single asphalt runway of 2,150 metres a few metres above the sea. Flying began here in January 1943, under the Japanese; today the building holds the head office of Nauru Airlines, the civil aviation authority, immigration and customs.
- Nadi 3 h 15
- Brisbane 4 h 40
- Sydney 5 h 35
- Auckland 5 h 40
- Bangkok 9 h 55 long-range jet
When to go
March to October.
The temperature barely moves: about 30 °C by day and a 29 °C sea in every month. Rain is what changes. The westerly monsoon makes November to February the wettest stretch, with January near 264 mm, and from March to October the north-east trades take the edge off the heat.
- 30° J 264 29°
- 30° F 226 29°
- 30° M 213 29°
- 30° A 201 29°
- 30° M 183 29°
- 30° J 165 29°
- 30° J 211 29°
- 30° A 170 29°
- 30° S 163 29°
- 30° O 170 29°
- 30° N 175 29°
- 30° D 241 29°
Elsewhere in Nauru
More reasons to come.
Flying to Yaren?
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