Things to Do in Nauru in December

Morning calm is gold. Water hits 29°C (84°F). Visibility off Anibare can reach 20 m (65 ft). Coral bommies shimmer below. Float the drop-off. Feel the blue void.

The drier mornings are good for exploring Nauru's stark, interior landscape of coral pinnacles and abandoned mining infrastructure. The air smells of crushed limestone and dry earth, and the silence out among the 'Topside' plateau is profound, broken only by the skittering of geckos. December's light casts long, dramatic shadows across the Japanese WWII gun emplacements and the haunting, skeletal remains of the phosphate railway, making for photography you can't get in the flat glare of the drier months.

Nauru's only freshwater body, Buada Lagoon, is surrounded by lush pandanus and dense vegetation that feels several degrees cooler than the exposed coast. In December, you might spot migratory birds stopping over, and the resident moorhens are active. The still, green water mirrors the sky, and the humidity here has a vegetal, fertile smell. It's a completely different sensory experience from the oceanic perimeter of the island.

Nauru's ring road is only about 19 km (12 miles) long, but driving its entirety is the way to grasp the island's rhythm. In December, aim for late afternoon. Start in Aiwo, where the industrial clang of the port gives way to the coconut groves of Anabar, and finish somewhere along the southwestern seawall as the sun drops into a horizon often stacked with spectacular, rain-fed cloud formations. The evening air cools just enough, carrying the scent of frangipani and the sea.