Some things you might not know about Tokelau...

• It is the 3^rd smallest country in the world, after the Pitcairn Islands and Vatican City

• The population of Tokelau is under 1500 people across all three atolls

• Fakaofo where we live has a population of 450 approx.

• You could say that Porirua where we live is the “capital city” of Tokelau with over 1500 Tokelauans.

• The highest point above sea level is only 5 metres!

• The only way to or from Tokelau is by boat-over 500km from Samoa the closest country, it is possibly the most isolated country in the world.

• On Fakaofo there is one shop - like a store at a camp ground.

• The only mammals apart from humans that live here are cats (Feral), pigs and mice/rats

• The lowest temperature we have had in our time here in the shade (at night) has been 26.8 degrees; the hottest again in the shade has been 36 degrees. The heat in the sun gets well above 40 degrees most days

• All our water supply is from rainwater collected off the roof into tanks built into the foundation of the house.

• With fish as the staple food here (literally breakfast, lunch and dinner!) the lagoon and ocean is the main source of food.

• Communication with the outside world is limited-.- for example the internet and international phone lines are down and have been for two days (and counting) There is no way to contact the outside world, apart from a satellite phone that can reach Samoa.

• Mail takes 4-9 weeks from NZ to get here

• A lot of the country is stunningly beautiful and untouched by humans

• It is the first country in the world to be completely Solar powered.

• A cell tower is currently being built to provide cell-phone telecommunication for the first time.

• There is no postal address as such because of the small population, a name and the atoll the person is living on is enough.

• Women are not allowed to buy alcohol, men are allowed 3 bottles a day.

• Cigarettes are only $6 a packet- 20’s, a significant majority of adults here smoke.  

• Tokelau is the 1^st country in the world to fully ban fizzy drinks! They received W.H.O award for this achievement.

• Tokelau along with Tuvalu and Kiribati are the Pacific countries most likely to become uninhabitable by climate change within the next 50 years. The sea would only need to rise 1 meter to make life here virtually impossible