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South Pacific Photos: Tuvalu

Tuvalu Travel Photos

Tuvalu is a chain of three islands and six atolls a thousand kilometers north of Fiji. Independent of Britain since 1978, the 9,000 inhabitants of Tuvalu are now threatened by rising seas resulting from climate change.

Half the country's population lives on Funafuti Atoll, where the airport and government offices are located. Overcrowded Funafuti has a serious garbage disposal problem, and the "borrow pits" where U.S. troops extracted coral to build the airstrip during World War Two aren't pretty.

All photos on Pacific-Pictures.com are by David Stanley, author of Moon Handbooks South Pacific. The images on this page are details. To view the complete photos, click on the thumbnails.

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Exposed Reef: Funafuti Atoll Exposed limestone at the southern tip of Fongafale Island, Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu: Funafuti consists of a string of small coral islands sprinkled around the atoll's central lagoon like a string of beads.
		Funafuti International Airport receives Air Pacific flights from Suva.

		Collecting toddy from a coconut tree to produce a local homebrew.

Children playing in front of their thatched home on Funafuti.	Between flights Funafuti's massive airstrip is used for other purposes.	Laundry hanging out to dry in front of a Funafuti home.

The north end of the road on Fongafale Island, Funafuti.	A seaside graveyard near Funafuti's main wharf.	A "borrow pit" which supplied coral to build Funafuti's airstrip.

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Tuvalu Travel Photos

Exposed Reef: Funafuti Atoll