Wanna get away?

[FinallyRetired]

I've been looking through Google Earth for the most remote place I can find. This is a good candidate: these few homes on Ternatagi Atoll in French Polynesia.

The homes:

The Atoll:

The neighborhood:

The planet:

 

[Nords]

I've been looking through Google Earth for the most remote place I can find. This is a good candidate: these few homes on Ternatagi Atoll in French Polynesia.

I think their elevation is going to be much more critical than their latitude/longitude...

The HVCB occasionally markets the claim that the Hawaiian Islands are the earth's most isolated population (hey, they're marketers, not geographers or statisticians). I occasionally wonder what would happen if the fallout from the nuclear cloud cut off our air & sea supply routes, but there's probably no benefit to obsessing over it as long as I have a fishing pole.

 

[retire@40]

...Ternatagi Atoll in French Polynesia...

I thought it was REALLY remote when I did a search on "Ternatagi" and found zero hits in Google.

It's actually spelled "Tematagi"

I wonder what the cost of living is there? Also, what would you do there all day?

 

[FinallyRetired]

I thought it was REALLY remote when I did a search on "Ternatagi" and found zero hits in Google.

It's actually spelled "Tematagi"

I wonder what the cost of living is there? Also, what would you do there all day?

That's the Western spelling. We Ternatagians prefer the original spelling as our small way of preserving our culture.

I'm trying to find out what those houses are, I imagine it's a French military outpost, maybe it supported their nuclear tests? Or, perhaps it's the one place they can defend and, by gosh, they're going to do it.

Nords: You're probably right, in terms of population, Hawaii may be the most remote. When the balloon goes up, if I were you I would leave the fishing pole behind, pick up the board, and enjoy my last wave.

 

[CuppaJoe]

I'm trying to find out what those houses are, I imagine it's a French military outpost, maybe it supported their nuclear tests? Or, perhaps it's the one place they can defend and, by gosh, they're going to do it.

A friend lived on Kwajalein for a while. How did the joke go, "they can reach it from Vandenberg by missile (only) on a clear day." Don't remember exactly what she said they did there besides watching very old movies outdoors. I believe Kwaj is the home of the "rust man triathalon." Very hot very humid. She came back to civilization in the middle of her "tour" and literally kissed the tarmac. I thought the "world's most isolated" people were those living in single family homes, oops, too political. Go Barry!

 

[Nords]

A friend lived on Kwajalein for a while. How did the joke go, "they can reach it from Vandenberg by missile (only) on a clear day." Don't remember exactly what she said they did there besides watching very old movies outdoors. I believe Kwaj is the home of the "rust man triathalon." Very hot very humid. She came back to civilization in the middle of her "tour" and literally kissed the tarmac. I thought the "world's most isolated" people were those living in single family homes, oops, too political. Go Barry!

Shipmates of ours retired from active duty and moved straight to Kwaj. He's a surface warrior who knows how to operate a weapons range and run exercises while she does all the weather forecasting. The money is obscene, especially considering that their housing/utilities are provided and they have subsidized food & medical. She flies to Hawaii every quarter for her Reserve drills and stocks up on indulgences. I think they're open-ocean sailors, so their idea of a vacation might be a downwind run to another island.

Another shipmate was raised on Kwaj (son of contractors). He said the island in the 1970s-80s was a kid's paradise-- diving, snorkeling, fishing, all sorts of sports leagues & clubs, everyone knew everyone and their business. It was the small-town society that so many have been trying to recreate.

No traffic jams, either.

 

[FinallyRetired]

It was the small-town society that so many have been trying to recreate.

No traffic jams, either.

I fired an ICBM into Kwaj once. Hope I didn't mess up their small town lifestyle.

 

[BigMoneyJim]

I wonder what the cost of living is there? Also, what would you do there all day?

Not too long ago I found myself reading up on atolls and wanting to visit one. Most are in French Polynesia which is said to have a very high cost of living. (I guess it's back to Cozumel next time I want sand and clear ocean.)

U.S. has several minor islands including at least a couple of atolls, but I think the atolls are abandoned military flight stopovers now abandoned and cleaned up as a bird refuge / nature preserve with no human facilities or inhabitants.

 

[NinjaPigeon]

I vote we all pool our money together and buy one of these:

Islands for Sale, Real Estate, Private Islands

We can elect CFB as our honorary leader and Nords will serve as our Entertainment Director, with complementary surfing lessons on Tuesdays. Maybe Al can manage the local bar music?

I have about $20 I can chip in to purchase our island. Just let me know when you guys are ready!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Oh jeez louise, I dont even wanna moderate you people, let alone lead you.

You're just trying to get my newsletter without paying the two bucks.

In all of this, i'm reminded of one of Thor Heyerdahl's trips where he lived on one of these little pacific lumps. On trying to live "on the beach" in the traditional sense of retirement perfection, he was eaten alive by bugs, nipped by crabs, and hammered by the humidity and heat. He ended up traversing the island and found a cool damp little cave that caught a prevailing wind, reducing the heat, humidity, bugs and pretty much all of the other annoyances. He remained there for some time, far happier than he had been while living on the beach.

So I guess the message of that story is that a tropical beach paradise sucks. Find a nice little dark hole with a cool breeze, relax and enjoy.

 

[Moemg]

[Not too long ago I found myself reading up on atolls and wanting to visit one. Most are in French Polynesia which is said to have a very high cost of living. (I guess it's back to Cozumel next time I want sand and clear ocean.)

]

I've been to Bora Bora and it was very expensive also pretty boring except for the shark feading that will keep you awake .They take you out in a wodden (piece of s---) boat to the reef and another boat comes and they put a rope between them that you have to hang onto then they start throwing in bloody fish sharks come and go into a feeding frenzy .One came eye to eye with me and then backed away .I guess my New Jersey stare scared him .They also have swimming with the sharks were basically you hope you are a faster swimmer than the sharks .A little too scarey for me .

 

[bssc]

They also have swimming with the sharks were basically you hope you are a faster swimmer than the sharks .A little too scarey for me .

My understanding was that you just had to be a faster swimmer than the others in the water with you.

 

[Rustic23]

When I was ferrying air craft across the Pacific we stopped at:

Minamitori-shima (南鳥島) or Marcus Island is an isolated island in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, located at 24°18′N, 153°58′E.

The guys from the coast guard said it was the most remote inhabited Island in the world. About 800 miles from any other inhabited place. There were 35 Japanese Coast Guard and 34 U.S. Coast Guard. Interesting they said that 2 guys manned the Loran station and the other 33 supported those two. Not sure if they are still there as GPS obsoletes Loran.

You will see a nice swiming pool on the southern side of the island. Only problem is it is the alternate drinking water in case they don't get enough rain. So they ask us not to swim in it.

 

[CuppaJoe]

Nords, yeah, the money was good and my friend got audited for not paying taxes those years; she claimed she didn't have to pay because she worked abroad those years; the agent read the tax code on the commuter bus and relented. Her stories are coming back; she did make many friends there, biked to work (long days, 5-1/2 days/week); and enjoyed visiting nearby islands.

Soon2Retire, could it be? Those houses look like the Ken Lay compound! (Its the only conspiracy theory I'm giving serious consideration).

Bunny, is that guy you describe the one who had an unnatural relationship with "Wilson."

 

[Nords]

Not too long ago I found myself reading up on atolls and wanting to visit one. Most are in French Polynesia which is said to have a very high cost of living. (I guess it's back to Cozumel next time I want sand and clear ocean.)
U.S. has several minor islands including at least a couple of atolls, but I think the atolls are abandoned military flight stopovers now abandoned and cleaned up as a bird refuge / nature preserve with no human facilities or inhabitants.

Midway & Wake Island are beginning to be seen as eco-tourism assets like in this article: Going to Midway is going all the way - to heaven I've read of cruise ships actually stopping at Midway for WWII reunions & memorial services.

The Northwest Hawaiian Islands have been declared a nature preserve and see regular research/cleanup traffic. It's only a matter of time until various agencies start camping out there.

Like CFB's Heyerdahl example, on Hawaii's beaches you can always tell the locals from the visitors. The visitors are baking on the sand while the locals are hiding under the trees or building shelters...

 

[Rustic23]

Also look at Johnson Island. It is 717 WSW of Hawaii. Surprisingly Continental use to fly in there. Now you have to carry a gas mask with you all the time, and part of the island is off limits due to high radio activity. Seems like a missile with a nuke warhead blew up on the island and spread a little fall out around. Otherwise very remote and great shark fishing.

There are a couple of others. Pohnpei is in Micronesia. Not as remote, fairly well populated, had one hotel in 1985. Great scuba!

 

[SecondCor521]

Wikipedia suggests Bouvet Island as a getaway -- apparently it's the point of land furthest from any other land. Uninhabited and a bit creepy if you ask me:

Bouvet Island - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2Cor521

 

[REWahoo]

I've spent some time on Wake, Midway, and a real garden spot: Adak, located in the Aleutian Islands, halfway between Seattle and Japan, 1300 miles southwest of Anchorage. Convinced me that the idea of living on a remote island is waaay overrated.

 

[Nords]

... and a real garden spot: Adak, located in the Aleutian Islands, halfway between Seattle and Japan, 1300 miles southwest of Anchorage. Convinced me that the idea of living on a remote island is waaay overrated.

Lovely MEDEVAC site if you happen to be within a thousand miles or so of the area for some (unspecified) reason. Our submariner was in such dire straits that we turned him over to the Air Force, and it was a good thing. This picture was taken just a few minutes after we completed the 36-hour evolution. I really enjoyed watching the eagles on the way in, but the 70-knot facial snowblower on the way out was a downer.

 

[Rustic23]

Stopped at Wake and Midway several times also. They are garden spots compared to Marcus Island. Marcus Island use to be surrounded by a coral reef. The Navy thought it would be easier to get fuel to the island if they blew a hole in the reef and laid a temporary pipe. It didn’t work, however, mama shark found the waters between the beach and the coral reef a perfect breeding ground. So now you swim at your own risk. No pool, No surf. Coast Guard did have a great collection of XXX rated videos, and books.

 

[FinallyRetired]

When I was ferrying air craft across the Pacific we stopped at:

Minamitori-shima (南鳥島) or Marcus Island is an isolated island in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, located at 24°18′N, 153°58′E.

The guys from the coast guard said it was the most remote inhabited Island in the world. About 800 miles from any other inhabited place. There were 35 Japanese Coast Guard and 34 U.S. Coast Guard. Interesting they said that 2 guys manned the Loran station and the other 33 supported those two. Not sure if they are still there as GPS obsoletes Loran.

You will see a nice swiming pool on the southern side of the island. Only problem is it is the alternate drinking water in case they don't get enough rain. So they ask us not to swim in it.

Rustic

I believe this is your Marcus Island. It has a 4500 ft runway SW to NE, Looks like some quonset huts on the east side, and on the south I do see what looks like a water storage/ swimming pool. It's about 800 nm from Wake Island, and around 5-600 nm from some other islands but they may not be inhabited. It's also about 15 feet above sea level, so it may not be there much longer.

This may indeed be the most remote inhabited island in the world (although Easter Island might compete). So we have different measures for remoteness: most remote inhabited island, most remote large population (Hawaii?) and most remote island from continents (Termatagi?).

By the way, I verified that the buildings at Termatagi are/were indeed used by the French military when they were supporting nuclear tests. If I know the French military, those guys are still there claiming they have a mission while enjoying coconut daquiris

 

[Rustic23]

There are two living areas on the island. One is the Japanese and the other the U.S. Coast Guard. The Japanese kept a weather station there. As far as being 15 ft above sea level, the island has been occupied off an on since World War II, maybe earlier. I’m not sure how it weathers storms, or if they just don’t go there. We put one C-130 and five OV-10’s on the island. We had to park the 130 and some of the OV’s on the runway. The takeoff roll for the OV was right at 4,300 ft. We rolled to the end of the runway and yanked it off the ground, and hoped they flew. The takeoff roll is usually shorter, but in order to fly the distance between island we were carrying two extra wing tanks. To get to Hawaii from Korea we had to go to Japan, Marcus, Wake, Midway, the Hawaii. To go back it was Hawaii, Johnson, Midway, Wake, Pohnpei, Guam, Ewo, Kadina, then Korea. One trip took 14 days!

 

[FinallyRetired]

Also look at Johnson Island. It is 717 WSW of Hawaii. Surprisingly Continental use to fly in there. Now you have to carry a gas mask with you all the time, and part of the island is off limits due to high radio activity. Seems like a missile with a nuke warhead blew up on the island and spread a little fall out around. Otherwise very remote and great shark fishing.

Here's the garden spot of Johnston Island. Other than the flight line, not much room for anything else. Looks like a lovely place to lay on the beach with your gas mask on. It was used for nuclear tests in the 50s. I had some buddies who were stationed there in the 60s and 70s. This link is a riot, listen to the "JI Saturday Night" song. Bet that club was rocking on Saturday nights, not much competition.
AFB Military World's LARGEST Collection* Johnston Island Memories Air Force Base

And their motto:
"I'll see your Herb Orange and raise you some Mustard Gas"