Of all our trips, this is probably the most unusual and one of our favorites. In February, 1997 we were privileged to be one of the first tourists on Midway Atoll. It has always been a military base but in July, 1997 was turned over to the Fish and Wildlife Service who opened it up to tourists. The first year all visitors were considered guinea pigs and we had to fill out questionnaires to give feedback about how we felt about everything. For this, we were given access to places that will be off limits to tourists in the future. We were two of eleven people on the island (other than the support personnel which number around 200).
Midway Atoll is 1,250 miles northwest of Kauai, Hawaii and is the only landfall between Japan and the US. Its history is well known for playing a pivotal roll in WWII, 1942 where the battle of Midway took place. It was the turning point of the war and was an important communications post. Most of the historic buildings are in ruin now, but may be restored. It is still an important landing strip being smack between the two countries and is used for emergencies.
There are only two commercial flights a week to the atoll which is comprised of three small islands; Sand, Eastern and Spit. Sand is the only one inhabited by humans and is 1.8 X 2.2 miles. Easter is somewhat smaller and has an old landing strip on it and Spit is off limits to anyone but research people because of the endangered species on it. The main residents on all three islands are the Laysan Albatross which come every year to breed and raise their young. The bird is about the size of a small turkey and the three islands house 350,000 birds!
No aircraft is allowed to approach the atoll until dark when the birds are not in the air (except in an emergency). When we arrived there was just enough light to be able to see the group of islands and the surrounding reef, which is quite beautiful from the air. After circling the area, the pilot advised that there was a problem with the landing gear light and he was turning off all the lights except those on the wheels, doing a low fly-over so the ground personnel could see if the gear was engaged and we were to prepare for an emergency landing. All appeared OK on the ground, and we landed the small aircraft at the end of the airstrip which had every vehicle on the island with their lights on, lining the runway. Once we touched down, everyone converged on the plane. They didn't want to take a chance on taxiing the plane in case there was a problem with the gear, so we were transported from the end of the strip and they towed the plane back to the hangar. Quite a welcome to Midway!
The next day we found out that we had hit a bird and we went to see the damaged nose cone. Yikes, it's amazing what a bird can do (not to mention what we did to the bird). Being so remote, they have the capability of totally rebuilding their plane, so it was repaired in time to make the Wednesday run. Once a week a military transport lands to restock the island. The first thing they run out of is milk.
The main reason to go to Midway is the wildlife, especially the Albatross. Every patch of ground is covered with birds and the chicks were still in their nests while we were there. They lay only one egg because it takes so much to raise a chick and they aren't fledged for six monts. While one parent goes to sea to get food, the other stays with the chick, taking turns to feed. These birds are also called Gooney birds because they are so funny. They have a mating ritual which is unlike anything you have ever seen, bobbing and weaving, squawking, putting their heads under their wings, clacking and touching beaks. They mate for life. Once the birds are fledged, they go out to sea for five to seven years, never touching land!
Most of our days involved hiking to different parts of the island and observing the wildlife in each area. These small islands are safe havens for several severely endangered species. The Short Tailed Albatross has only 700 remaining in the world and we were lucky to see one of them. The Hawaiian Monk Seals are starting to breed here (there are 1,200 left in the world) and we also saw a Green Sea Turtle which is endangered.
One day we took a short boat ride to Eastern Island which has no human population. Although half the size of Sand Island, its population of Albatross is larger. The dead bodies are not picked up here and we saw several birds whose stomachs were filled with small plastic objects. The birds are attracted to the color of the plastic, thinking it is fish, and eat it. They take in so much of it, it fills their stomachs and they starve to death. Most of the plastic came from Japan.
Because of the problem with plastic, we would go out and walk along the beaches with garbage bags, cleaning the beach. It would take us 15 minutes to fill the bags so full, we could hardly drag them and everything came from the sea - there are no litterbugs on Midway. We found tires, plastic milk crates, light bulbs, beer bottles, bic lighters, etc., etc., etc. It was very disheartening.
Every building on the island is from the military and there was a bowling alley, theater, gymnasium, barracks, mess hall, the "Mall" which had two stores, one general store which was sparsely stocked and a souvenier shop. There are still large, rusting guns there as well as bunkers.
However, the main attraction is the birds. Other than the Laysan Albatross, the island has Black-footed Albatross (second largest population in the world),Ruddy Turnstones,Red-tailed Tropicbirds,Black Noddys, White Terns, Curlews, Red and Blue Footed Boobies, Frigate Birds, wild Canaries and Mynahs, Golden Plovers, and others.
The main thing, however are the Laysan Albatross who are so endearing, my heart broke when we had to leave them. You just can't help falling in love with them and that is the lasting legacy of this most fascinating place.
PHOTOGRAPHS
OF MIDWAY ATOLL
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