Things to Do in Fanning Island

Sunrise drift snorkel on English Channel reef

Slip into the water at first light. The channel's coral heads blush pink. Parrotfish crunch coral so loudly it feels like rice crispies under water. Outgoing tide pulls you gently past purple clams the size of dinner plates. An occasional white-tip reef shark watches with the curiosity of a cat. Then it vanishes into the blue haze.

Coconut-husking lesson in Tereitaki village

Under the shade of a breadfruit canopy you'll hear the scrape-scrape of a stake driven through coconut eyes. You smell the faint tang of fermenting sap. Husks still hot from the sun press against your palms. The village kids giggle when visitors miss the twisting motion. Land it right and the shell pops free with a satisfying sigh.

Kite-calm paddle through the lagoon at dusk

Borrow a hand-carved outrigger. The water turns glassy, mirroring mango-colored clouds. You hear nothing but droplets sliding off your paddle. A jumping milkfish slaps occasionally. The breeze smells faintly of wood smoke drifting from cook fires. Families prepare the evening reef catch.

Hand-line fishing off the rusted copra barge wreck

The half-sunken hulk sits on white sand at elbow depth. Its plates echo with each wave thump. Sergeant majors nip at your bait. You feel the tug of a scarlet snapper. Monofilament creaks across the gunwale. Brown noddy birds perch on the railing like bored commuters.

Full-moon walk to the abandoned telegraph station

The gravel path crunches underfoot. Spider-eyed hermit crabs reflect torchlight like scattered pearls. You'll brush against waist-high beach heliotrope that smells of vanilla and salt. Then you reach the 1902 stone hut. Copper fittings still carry a metallic tang. Geckos click from the rafters.

Paelau Homestay on the lagoon edge offers solar shower. Mosquito nets smell of sandalwood smoke. Morning coffee brews over coconut husk embers.

Tereitaki Maneaba lets you sleep on woven mats in the communal meeting house. You'll hear the tide slapping pilings. Sea breeze drifts through woven walls.

Schoolteacher's spare room by the soccer pitch has concrete walls that keep out crabs. You get access to the island's only bookshelf.

Camp under the coconut palms at English Channel. Carry a tent with no-see-um mesh. Falling fronds sound like bowling pins at 3 a.m.

Copra Shed platform has raised wooden floor. Tin roof drums in rain. You share space with sacks of dried coconut that smell of toasted biscuit.

Volunteer quarters at the medical clinic offer thin mattress. Generator off by ten. It's the only place with a cold-water shower that pushes a trickle.