Northern Mariana Islands

Postcard map of Saipan, largest island in the United States territory of the Northern Mariana Islands. I generally prefer straight-up standard picture postcards, but Northern Mariana Islands doesn't tend to figure on many people's travel itineraries, so I'll take what I can get. :-)

Northern Mariana Islands, like all United States territories, uses standard American stamps. Seen here is a stamp of Nine-Mile Prairie, a tract of conserved, virgin tallgrass prairie in Nebraska that has never been ploughed, making it an important site for the study of prairie ecology. The stamp, issued in 2001, is a part of a multiyear series on American landscapes. 

French Polynesia

Postcard from the idyllic island of Bora Bora in French Polynesia. I've been mesmerised by the allure of French Polynesia for a long time, since elementary school, in fact, when we were given a project about French-speaking countries and I was assigned this faraway paradise of turquoise lagoons and swaying palm trees. I've been hooked ever since! A the card from French Polynesia, however, eluded me for a very long time. It's a very long way from anything, and not many people make it there. I was over the moon when Couchsurfing friends Sacha and Denis requested to stay with me. It was great to talk to them about my ongoing fascination with their homeland, and to politely beg them to send a card for my collection on their return. They very kindly obliged, and a big merci and māuruuru roa to them for this new country to my collection.

Stamp from a yearly series for Chinese New Year, featured here 2013 Year of the Water Snake. Snake is most closely associated with education and research, making 2013 a very special year for scientists and scholars.

New Caledonia

Postcard of Nouméa, the capital of the New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific located between Australia and Fiji. Nouméa is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the South Pacific with large populations of Europeans, Asians, Polynesians, and local islanders. The islanders have for a long time sought to take back control of the island, and its considerable mineral wealth, from France. Following a period of unrest in the 1970s and 1980s, an agreement was reached to have an independence referendum, which is to be held between 2014 and 2018.

Many thanks to my former student Patrick, who was in New Caledonia for work. 

Stamp issued in 2008 in preparation for the Fourteenth Pacific Games, which were hosted in Nouméa in 2011. The Pacific Games are a sport event much like the Olympics, held once every four years with participation by the countries of the region.

Wallis and Futuna

The last of David's cards from his South Pacific travels, with my sincere thanks to him for crossing so many hard-to-get countries off my list. You can check out his blog here. This card is from the small French territory of Wallis and Futuna and shows a traditional kava ceremony. Kava, a small shrubby plant, is used for medicinal, religious, political, cultural and social purposes throughout the Pacific. Most commonly, the roots are pounded into a beverage that is said to produce relaxation, mental clarity, and mild euphoria.

The stamp on the left was issued in 2012 and is entitled Poetry of the Ocean. The stamp on the right was issued this year and celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the first court session held in Wallis and Futuna.

Kiribati

Postcard of Christmas Island (one of many with that name), also known as Kiritimati in local Gilbertese language. Measuring 388 square kilometres, Christmas Island has the greatest land area of any coral atoll in the world and makes up over 70% of the total land area of Kiribati. The island was uninhabited at the time of European discovery, although it may have served as a waystation during long sea voyages by Oceanic people in the past. 

Interestingly, when Spain sold its North Pacific possessions to Germany in 1899 following its defeat in the Spanish–American War, Christmas Island was not included in the description of the transferred territory. As a result, Spain in theory retained its sovereignty over the island. When the oversight was discovered in the 1940s, the Spanish Government declared that it reserved special rights to the island, although it has never made any attempt to exercise their rights to this odd fluke of history.

Thank you, or ko rab'a as they say in Kiribati, to David of "Postcards A world Travelogue" for all these fantastic cards.

Two stamps from the 2008 definitive series of twelve featuring birds. On the left, the band-rumped storm petrel, Oceanodroma castro, a common sea bird found across the tropical Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. On the right, the Eurasian teal, Anas crecca, a common waterbird found across Europe, North Africa, and Asia, although not in Kiribati! Loving the cancellation stamp.

Tonga

Postcard showing the Royal Palace in Tonga's capital, Nukuʻalofa. The wooden building was built in 1867 in ornate Victorian style. Although Tonga was a British protectorate until 1970, it maintained its sovereignty, and remained the only Pacific nation never to have given up its monarchical government, as was the case elsewhere such as in Tahiti and Hawaiʻi. The Tongan monarchy follows an uninterrupted succession of hereditary rulers from a single family stretching back hundreds of years. While the current king, Tupou VI, has been reigning for just over a year, his great-grandmother, Sālote Tupou III, reigned for nearly fifty years, assuming the throne when she was only 18, in 1918, until her death in 1965.

Thank you, or mālō ‘aupito as they say in Tonga, again to David of "Postcards A world Travelogue" for all these amazing cards from his travels.

Tonga is famous (in the philatelic world at least) for its uniquely-shaped stamps. Seen here are three stamps from a set of five about fruit issued in 2001.

American Samoa

Postcard of Mount Matafao and Pago Pago Harbour in American Samoa. Pago Pago has been the capital of  the territory since 1899 when the US Navy negotiated facilities for a coaling station from the Samoan high chief. The town site is backed by densely wooded mountains, and is situated on an inlet that deeply indents the southeast shore of Tutuila Island, almost bisecting the island while forming an extensive naturally protected deepwater harbour.

Again, deep-felt gratitude to David of "Postcards A world Travelogue" for helping cross so countries off my list. For being such a beautiful part of the world, the South Pacific receives few visitors. Getting so many Pacific island cards all at once has been a real pleasure.

American Samoa, like all American territories, uses standard US stamps. Stamp on the left is the 36th stamp in the Black Heritage series. It commemorates Althea Gibson, a famous tennis player and the first Black Wimbledon champion, winning the title in 1957. Stamp on the right is from a 2011 set of five featuring Disney and Pixar characters. Third stamp is a self adhesive from 2011 featuring the United States of America's first president, George Washington.

Samoa

Another new country added with my many kind thanks from David's South Pacific sojourn, which you can all follow at  "Postcards A world Travelogue". 

Card shows a sunset view of Beach Road, the main thoroughfare in the Samoan capital, Apia, with Matafele Methodist Church in centre frame. Apia began as a chief's village, but rose to prominence during the European colonial period due to its fine harbour. It was designated the capital of German Samoa in 1900, as Samoa was indeed one of the rare places in the world to be colonised by the German Empire. The German colony lasted until the outbreak of the First World War when the colony was occupied by an expeditionary force from New Zealand in 1914. There were no shots fired during the takeover as there was no German military presence on the island, only a small local police force. New Zealand continued to oversee Samoa in a United Nations trusteeship until independence in 1962.

Stamp depicts a tooth-billed pigeon, Didunculus strigirostris, the national bird of Samoa. The large bird is endemic to the islands and is endangered and poorly understood. It faces threats from habitat loss in its limited range and competition from introduced invasive species.

Vanuatu

Super woohooo! Welcoming new country Vanuatu into the collection, stamp-issuing entity No. 159! Card shows sites on the island of Espiritu Santo, the largest island in Vanuatu. The islands was named by Portuguese navigator Fernandes de Queirós, who arrived in 1605, claiming the archipelago for Spain and naming it Espiritu Santo, Spanish for "Holy Spirit". The Spanish never maid much of their claim to the region and by the 1880s France and the United Kingdom both claimed parts of the country. In 1906 they agreed on a unique form of government for jointly managing the archipelago as the New Hebrides through a British–French condominium, until independence was achieved in 1980.

Deep, heartfelt thanks and merci to friend of friend Juliette for helping me strike one more country off my list! :-D

Stamp from a 2011 set of four featuring beaches in Vanuatu, seen here the beach on Eratrap Island, a small island off the coast of Vanuatu's main island, Efate. To really get you in the mood, the stamp actually features a special coating mimicking the feel of real sand on the beach!

Fiji II

Bula, the Fijian word for "hello". A multiview card from that country, landing in my mailbox just a few days after my first card from Fiji. Almost like when I added Uzbekistan to my collection with three cards from three different people that all arrived on the same day; the more the merrier, I say! My many thanks and vinaka to David from "Postcards: A World Travelogue" for taking some time out of the palm trees to send this to me.

Stamp on the left is from 2003 (I think) and features tagimoucia, Medinilla waterhousei, a flowering vine endemic to Fiji and the country's national flower. Stamp on the right from a 2012 set of four on renewable energy in Fiji, commemorating the United Nations 2012 International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. It features biomass, plant material which generates energy directly by being burnt or once it is transformed into biofuel.

Fiji

Postcard of Levuka, the first colonial capital of Fiji, settled in 1820 and formally ceded to the British in 1874. The historical beachfront buildings sit amongst coconut and mango trees and form a rare, well-preserved example of nineteenth century European Pacific port settlements. Preservation was possible because the capital was moved to Suva on the main island of Viti Levu in 1882 as Levuku's townsite is ringed by cliffs, making growth difficult. Levuka Historical Port Town was added to the World Heritage List at this year's World Heritage Committee meeting in Phnom Penh, Fiji's first site to be inscribed.

Many thanks to Ben for helping me get my first card from Fiji! Vinaka vaka levu!

Stamp from a 1995 definitive set of eight on Fijian land birds showing a mangrove heron (Butorides striata), a common wetland bird across the Old World. Mangrove herons sit still for very long periods waiting for its prey to approach and then striking quickly. Stamp was overprinted with a new rate in 2006 (I think).

Nauru II

BEST! DAY! EVER! Two new countries in one day. So amazing. A super big 非常感謝 and heartfelt thanks to Hsiang-chi who sent my first Nauruan card sans stamp and very kindly offered to send a second with. I'll forever be in his debt, as Nauru is certainly one of the trickier countries to strike off the list.

Card shows coral rocks at Anibare Bay, Nauruan boy holding a frigate bird, a sunset and Buada Lagoon.

Two stamps from a 1991 set of 12 on local flowers, featuring hibiscus on the left and clerodendon on the left, both common flower types in the tropics.

Guam

Card from the American territory of Guam in the North-West Pacific. The island has become a popular winter holiday spot for Japanese, Koreans and Chinese looking for a spot of beach and sun. Card shows Tanguisson Beach and Two Lovers Point in the background. There are various permutations of the legend of Two Lovers Point, but in essence two star-crossed lovers, persecuted in life, tie their hair together and jump off the high cliff face to stay together in eternity.

Guam, and all other US territories, use the United States Postal Service rather than issuing its own stamps. Stamp shows Acadia National Park, the oldest national park in the United States east of the Mississippi, created in 1919. I thought it rather amusing that the special Canada/Mexico rate still applies to mail sent from Guam, even though they are several thousands of kilometres away, whereas mail sent to nearby Japan uses the standard international rate.

Nauru

A card from the tiny, isolated South Pacific country of Nauru, the world's third smallest and second least populated country. The country is famous, or more aptly infamous, for the terrible environmental impact phosphate mining has wrought on the small coral island. Phosphate was strip mined from the centre of the island, leaving behind a scorched and lifeless moonscape that can barely support the 9000 people who call Nauru their home. Seen here are the cantilevers used to deliver phosphate to cargo ships.

Many thanks to Hsiang-chi who very kindly agreed to swap cards with me. 謝謝你!

No stamp on this postage prepaid postcard, so unfortunately my hunt for a stamped card send from Nauru continues. Coat of arms of Nauru is shown, with the alchemical symbol for phosphate in the upper section.

Pitcairn Islands

Postcard from the very remote Pitcairn Island, located in the southeast Pacific Ocean between Tahiti and the South American mainland. The island is famously inhabited by the descendants of the Bounty mutineers and the Tahitians who accompanied them. With only about 67 inhabitants, Pitcairn is the least populous jurisdiction in the world. Seen here are the Saint Paul Rocks which form a natural pool, protecting swimmers from ocean swells.

Stamps from a 2009 set of two on the coconut crab, Birgus latro, a species of terrestrial hermit crab that lives in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Weighing in at an average of over four kilos, they are the largest land-living arthropod in the world. They are increasingly be threatened by human activity, having been extirpated from most areas of its range with a significant human population, including mainland Australia and Madagascar.

Tuvalu

Certainly one of the harder-to-get countries in my collection, so my thanks to Wu for helping me out with this one. Tuvalu – formerly the Ellice Islands – is probably most famously known, along with the Maldives, as being highly threatened by rising sea levels caused by global warming. The highest point in the country is a mere 4.6 metres and the country is subjected to wide-spread flooding during the king tides that peak in late summer, as seen in this photo of the Nui Community Meeting Hall in the capital city of Funafuti.

Postcard of endangered, blue-hued, Indo-Pacific coral species, Acropora aculeus.

Australia

Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House. The Opera House was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2007.










Russell Falls, Tasmania