Welcome to Kiribati Horizons

Mauri….welcome to Kiribati and Kiribati Horizons, your leading tour and hospitality partner in Kiribati!

Kiribati Horizons is an inbound tourism operator based in Betio on South Tarawa. Its main line of business includes facilitating travel and tourism bookings, tour and activity bookings, accommodation, diving, car rentals and inter-island travel within Kiribati.

Kiribati Horizons has developed its own tours and activities on a monthly basis as listed below. Alternatively, we can tailor-make an entire trip, or components of it, including all travel, accommodation, tour arrangements and specialist guides for you on request.

We are pleased to offer you our valued customers locally and from abroad the following activities:

Weekend Fishing Competition, 5:00am–4:00pm
Fish the “Monthly Betio Game Fishing Club” tournament. Call Kiribati Horizons and secure a place on “Belinda E”. We want you to bring luck to our boat. This is an event for serious fishos. $250 gets you 11 hrs on the water, 9 fishing, light breakfast, lunch & water, a fishing certificate signed by the Commodore of the BGFC, a BGFC key tag, and a 1-year BGFC membership. A minimum of 6 fishermen/fisherwomen required. We will do our utmost to ensure that every fisherman/fisherwoman catches a fish. Call 26136 or 90440 for more details.

Friday-Sunday – Ouba Special, 4:00pm
Tranquil turquoise waters, snorkelling in a clean, clear, colourful wonderland, generous meals made from the freshest of local produce. Sounds good..? It's called Ouba Islet Resort..! Kiribati Horizons is offering a unique 2-nights weekend getaway package to Ouba which includes transfers, accommodation, meals, snorkelling around Ouba and neighbouring Manra and Ekee islands, and a trip to Taete island to swim and lunch on the island. Price: $300.00 per couple; $200 per single. Maximum number of people is 4 couples or 8 singles or a combination of couples and singles but not exceeding 8 people. Boat departs Betio wharf at 4:00 pm Friday afternoon. Call 26136 or 90440 now for more details and make your booking.

Sunday – 'Sizzle on the Bridge', 7:00am–5:00pm
Are there any special places on North Tarawa? Broken Bridge is a gorgeous spot it has to be the most beautiful place in Nth. Tarawa. Come and join us on our Lagoon Cruise and our ‘Sizzle on the Bridge' trip. Price: $85.00 per person (incl. lagoon cruise, BBQ, swimming, snorkelling, and having a great time!) Just bring your towel and Sun Block cream, we'll do the rest! Boat departs Betio wharf 7:00am and calls at Bairiki wharf and Otintaai Hotel enroute. Minimum number is 8 people. Call 26136 or 90440 to book your place.

Sunday Swim - Bikeman Sandbar, 3:00pm-6:00pm
Where else can you experience the past present and future all at one time? Once the proud icon in the middle of Tarawa lagoon Bikemaan island is now a mere sandbar. Come with us on a nostalgic journey where you can walk the sandbar or swim around this disappearing spectacle. Beer and wine will be available to drink and reflect on the fragility of our island home. Snacks are complimentary. Price: $50 per person. Boat departs Betio wharf at 3:00pm on Sunday afternoon and calls at Bairiki wharf before going to Bikeman. Minimum number is 8 people. Call 26136 or 90440 now for more details and book your name and your friends as well.

Kiribati Horizons welcomes bookings from you and your friends. If you are interested in going out to Ouba Islet Resort, or anywhere else in Kiribati give us a call. We can provide your own private getaway/hideaway holiday Call us on 26136 or 90440.

Kiribati Horizons – Your Partner In Hospitality

Tarawa Atoll

The capital of Kiribati, Tarawa is the most populated atoll and Betio is its major town and international port. It is also the home base of Kiribati Horizons from which it runs trips to exotic locations in North Tarawa and the Outer Islands and other local popular picnic spots. Kiribati Horizons will arrange transfers from Bonriki International Airport to your hotel or the boat's point of departure on request. Kiribati Horizons also operates fishing adventures which are well priced. Your fishing partners and yourself can choose what type of fishing you would like whether bottom bouncing, trolling or spinning off reefs. Fly-fishing is also a great option.

Monthly Fishing Competition
Are you game to come and fish with us? Kiribati Horizons is the only one offering you the chance to fish in the “Betio Game Fishing Club” tournament. This is a full day trip for serious fishos. It starts at 5:00 am and does not end until after the weigh in at 5:00 pm in the afternoon, the high point of the event and of the Tarawa calendar. $250 gives each fisherman a 12-month BGFC Membership, a nice BGFC Members' key tag, a Fishing Certificate issued by Kiribati Horizons and signed by the Commodore of BGFC, 9-10 hrs fishing and, a light breakfast and lunch. Feel free to bring your own booze, but remember the boat's rule-of-thumb - no drinking allowed until after the first fish has been landed! We will do our utmost to ensure that every fisherman catches a fish! Minimum number: 6 fishermen.

Broken Bridge Cruise
Kiribati Horizons is the only one offering visitors and travellers to Kiribati the opportunity of a properly organised trip to the remote and very picturesque parts of North Tarawa. One such gorgeous spot is the Broken Bridge area. It is said to be the most beautiful place on Nth. Tarawa. Come and join us on our “Sizzle on the Bridge” Cruise. Our boat calls in at Bairiki wharf and Otintaai Hotel before heading out to the bridge for a swim and BBQ. Enjoy swimming, snorkelling and be part of a great time. Just bring a towel and Sun Block cream and we’ll do the rest!

Lagoon Cruise
Kiribati Horizons from time to time will organise cruises within Tarawa lagoon. These are relaxing pre-dinner cruises starting mid afternoon from the Betio wharf, calling in at Bairiki and on to the Otintaai Hotel, round the bight of Tarawa, to the Buota and Tanaea channel for a quick dip, before going back to the Otintaai, Bairiki and back to Betio. Please contact Kiribati Horizons for further details.

Bikeman Sandbar
Where else can you experience the past, present and future all at one time? Kiribati Horizons takes you to Bikemaan Island, once the proud icon in the middle of Tarawa lagoon now a mere sandbar. Come with us on a nostalgic journey where you can walk the sandbar or swim around this disappearing spectacle. Drinks and snacks will be available from the boat arranged as a swim-up bar and reflect on the fragility of our island home.

Private Holiday
Kiribati Horizons welcomes bookings from you and your friends. If you are interested in going out to anywhere else in Tarawa give us a call. We can provide your own private getaway/hideaway holiday outside of the activities mentioned above.

Abaiang Atoll

Abaiang Atoll is about 5 nautical miles from the northernmost end of Tarawa Atoll. The distance from Betio, the main business area of Tarawa, to the southernmost end of Abaiang, is about 23 nautical miles.

Kiribati Horizons has its own fishing and diving lodge on Ouba Islet set on the north-western outer edge of Abaiang lagoon called the Sunset Coast.

From Betio to Ouba Islet is about 30 nautical miles, about an hour and a half in our 33 foot boat. However, the boat trip to Ouba is normally quite exciting as one would go along 16 to 17 nautical miles of the western reef of Tarawa Atoll.

Along this reef you may see dolphins, flying fish, turtles, manta rays and a multitude of corals and brightly coloured fish. In the months of May through August when the weather is usually very calm, the sea would very often become like sheet glass so that you would see right through to the corals beneath.

For really keen fishermen, fishing can start as soon as leaving the harbour in Betio and troll all the way up to Ouba with the chance of catching a wahoo, tuna, trevally barracuda, or rainbow runner. Bottom fishing stops along the way will produce red bass, job fish, coral trout, snappers and cod.

Between Atolls, you cross through deep ocean water for about 8 or 9 miles with the odd chance of seeing a sailfish jump out of the water, mahi-mahi or even marlin before you get to the lee of Abaiang Atoll. Once again there is a very spectacular coral reef and another 3 to 4 miles of motoring along this reef takes you to Ouba.

Traditional materials are used in the construction of all the buildings on Ouba and give credence to the eco friendly atmosphere of Island life.

Ouba has 2 Kiribati traditional style bungalows with a sleeping area, an open area and an outside deck. The bungalows can sleep up to 4 people. There are also 2 buia with double beds and romantic views. Mattresses, sheets, pillows and mosquito nets when required are provided and are serviced daily. The amenities block is also built from traditional materials with three separate washing and three separate flushing bio-toilets. Rain water is collected for showers but bottled water is brought in from Tarawa for drinking purposes. Kiribati Horizons has plans for solar powered desalination.

Meals are eaten beneath traditional coconut thatch or down on the beach under the stars and another thatch hut has been labelled the Sunset Bar, a great place to unwind and discuss the day's events with the comfort of a full bar service.

Ouba's trees also provide resting and nesting areas for the common noddy terns and fairy terns and visits from frigate birds from the nearby Islets. A stroll across to the adjacent islands at low tide will allow you to search for coconut crabs, so take your camera. On Ouba you will be provided with three meals a day, cheap drinks, great fishing and excellent company you will not be disappointed.

Paradise Found

Other points of interest on Abaiang Island:

Takarano village boasts a traditional-style Maneaba that is more than a hundred years old.

Koinawa village has got the oldest (100yrs+) and tallest church in Kiribati.

Between Koinawa and Morikao villages stands the monument marking the spot where the first Christian missionaries landed in Kiribati.

Tebunginako village stands to be the first place to really feel the impact of climate change with its people having to re-locate several times as their village becomes inundated by rising sea levels and seawater intrusion.

Ouba Islet Resort

At Ouba we look forward to giving you a unique Kiribati experience in a beautiful equatorial setting along with pristine beaches and seas.

Ouba is located at 1 51'28" N, 172 53'10" E, about a two-hour boat ride from Tarawa, the Kiribati capital. It is a coral islet of about 1 hectare of the Abaiang atoll islet chain. The average air temperature is 28 Celsius – with cooling evening breezes – and about the same in the water.

We have developed Ouba as an ecologically friendly resort and have made minimal impact on the islet and its surrounds consistent with providing basic comforts within a traditional Kiribati village setting.

You won't find internet, television, phones or shops, just peace & tranquility.

What we do have are two traditionally designed Buia (pronounced booya) and two smaller Kia-Kias, great food, showers and toilets and one of the most beautiful water vistas in the world. Our sunsets, reflecting off the Pacific Ocean, will live in your memory long after you have left us.

The fishing and snorkeling is world class. We offer game fishing in some of the most productive waters of the Central Pacific as well as food fishing off our surrounding reefs and in the lagoon. You can snorkel in coral corridors leading into the open sea after a short walk across our fringing reef shelf or, for even more excitement, drift through one of our inter-islet channels from one of our boats. You will see the full range of tropical sea life – from the beautiful, gigantic Napoleon wrasse through brightly colored trigger and parrot fish down to the range of fascinating critters like nudibranchs.

If simply relaxing in a stunningly beautiful location is your thing, then we have plenty of shade and regular sea breezes to cool you while you lounge under the umbrellas on our sandy beach and read that favorite book.

Ouba has 2 Kiribati traditional style raised bungalows with a sleeping area, an open area sitting room that can be used as an extra bedroom in order to accommodate families or groups of friends and an outside deck. The bungalows can sleep up to 4 people.

There are also two Kia-Kias with raised double beds and romantic views a small sitting room and an outside deck a perfect place to observe the dawn.

Each structure is made from local materials, raised off the ground to take advantage of breezes and half-walled to provide privacy without sacrificing views. Coconut mat screens can be lowered for privacy or protection in the event of rain.

Mattresses, sheets, pillows and mosquito nets are provided and the rooms are serviced daily. The amenities block is also built from traditional materials with three separate washing stalls and three separate flushing bio-toilets.

Both the Buias and the Kia Kias are lit by hurricane lamps at night but a generator is run occasionally for recharging batteries.

Our dining and bar area are local structures with stunning sunset views a perfect place for an ice cold drink at the end of the day.

Our catering has been praised as being the best in Kiribati. You will eat freshly caught fish and other seafood, hearty breakfasts and local as well as Western specialties. We sell beer, liquor, soft drink and wine on request. We can cater to any special dietary requirements as long as we have warning well in advance – we get our supplies from Tarawa, two hours away by boat!

Meals are eaten beneath traditional coconut thatch or down on the beach under the stars and another thatch has been labeled the Sunset Bar, a great place to unwind and discuss the day's events with the comfort of a full bar service.

We have a large Maneaba (meeting place) that can be used for conferences of up to forty people. Ouba has been a successful venue for local government Planning Conferences where we have accommodated more than twenty senior officials.

The Maneaba can also be used for sleeping accommodation.

Ouba's trees also provide resting and nesting areas for the common noddy terns and fairy terns whilst visiting frigate birds from the nearby Islets will keep you entertained with their graceful flight. A stroll across to the adjacent islands Eke and Manra. at low tide will allow you to search for coconut crabs, and examine the rock pools so take your camera.

On Ouba you will be provided with three meals day, cheap drinks, excellent fishing and excellent company, you will not be disappointed.

What you need to bring
Ouba is pristine and has no shop we will provide all bedding, towels, soap, etc but you will need to bring personal toiletries and medications, and also

• reef shoes;
• casual clothing – we find a sarong, sulu or lap-lap (we call them lava lavas) is the most useful item of clothing;
• snorkeling equipment;
• books or other reading matter.

We want you to have the best possible holiday experience with us and we will do everything in our power to make it so. But we ask your help in keeping our islet pristine. Keep only memories and take only photos.

We have beautiful shallow-water corals growing on our reefs and channels – please be careful when walking out to snorkel, swim or to visit the neighboring islets. Ouba has no natural water and we bring our drinking, cooking and washing water from Tarawa and Manra – please bear this in mind when washing. We have plans for solar powered desalination.

Te Mauri Te Raoi Te Tabomoa