KIRIBATI ~ Tarawa Island ~

... More amazing beauty from planet Earth🌍... a breathtakingly beautiful view of a white sandy beach... and another postcard that came as a surprise... the most original and unspoiled country of the Pacific... ranked among the least visited and most isolated places in the world...Tarawa has a huge lagoon which has a lot of different variety of fishes and other marine creatures... most of the beaches have many seabirds breeding and nesting... a dream destination for fishing, divers, birdwachters...Thanks a million Denise!! (✿ ♥‿♥)

The Micronesian island nation of Kiribati is scattered 3000km along the equator in the Central Pacific. Comprising 33 low lying atolls divided into 3 groups – the Gilbert Islands, Line Islands and Phoenix Islands, the raised coral island of Banaba being the only exception.

Tarawa is an atoll in the Gilbert Islands and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati. It has a large lagoon, 500 square kilometres (193 sq mi) total area, and a wide reef. Bairiki, an islet of Tarawa, serves as an administrative center.

Stamps:

2X Definitives - Ships and Boats (Issued 05-10-2013)

Bird Definitives
(Issued 09-02-2008)

KIRIBATI ~ Tarawa ~

...Postcard coming  from a tropical island that also saw some of the bloodiest fighting of World War II and remnants of that war are still all around in Tarawa as shown on this great card... Thanks so much David!!♥ (check out his amazing blog here)

Kiribati is an island group in  Micronesia, comprises 33 coral atolls stretching along the equator.
The Republic of Kiribati is particularly concerned about global warming. It is thought that climate change will see the disappearance of the low-lying islands. Two of the uninhabited coral reefs have already been submerged by rising sea levels.

Tarawa is an atoll located  southwest of Hawaii. It consists of a series of coral islets. The military importance of Tarawa lay in its strategic location at the gateway of the US drive through the central Pacific towards the Philippines.

During the Second World War Japanese troops occupied the Gilbert Islands. Fierce fighting took place in Tarawa between the Japanese and US troops.

Stamps:

Definitives - Ships and Boats
(Issued 05-10-2013)

KIRIBATI ~Art by Tevita Pola'apau ~

...Fantastic surprise in my mailbox today...it took five months to arrive...lovely art postcard...unfortunately coming from an island which could become one of the first victims of global warming :(... ever increasing high tides are causing villagers to abandon their homes...
Thanks a lot Rod!! Must have been once again an amazing journey... (http://www.expeditioncruising.com/ )

Kiribati  is an island located in the central Pacific Ocean, about 4,000 km (about 2,500 mi) southwest of Hawaii. It is part of the division of the Pacific islands that is known as Micronesia. Kiribati consists of 33 coral islands divided among three island groups: the Gilbert Islands, the Phoenix Islands, and the Line Islands.

The capital of Kiribati is Tarawa, an atoll in the Gilbert Islands. Bairiki, an islet of Tarawa, serves as an administrative center.

Stamp:
Explorers - Captain Wilkes & The Vincennes
(Issued 25-03-2002)

KIRIBATI ~Christmas Island ~

...here another one of David's  amazing postcards (uploading by date sent 28-08-2013)...I would never have associated these gorgeous tropical views with Christmas...THANKS!!


With fantastic stamp and cancellation:
 (Christmas decoration...how cool is that!)
 Grey-tailed Tattler
(Issued  09.02.2008)

Kiribati (part of the Line Islands) is an island nation in the middle of the Pacific. The nation is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, Banaba. Formerly part of the British Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, Kiribati became independent in 1979.

 Christmas Island (also known as Kiritimati) by itself represents the majority of the land area of Kiribati and is the world's largest coral atoll. The entire island is a Wildlife Sanctuary.

 The island got its names from its discovery by Capt. James Cook on Christmas Eve in 1777. Christmas became Kiritimati in the local Gilbertese language.

Because of its position just west of the International Date Line, Kiritimati is the first inhabited island to begin each new day and year.