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American Spirit II - Day 256; The History of Christmas Island, a Tour and a BBQ on Christmas Island; Thursday, September 18, 2014



Up at 6:30 AM, coffee then dingied into shore for an 8:00 AM clearing in with Quarantine, Customs and Immigration officials. Christmas Island is part of Australia, so the same very critical review we've received elsewhere in Australia still applies.

Breakfast at 7:00 AM - bacon, eggs, chilled mandarin orange slices and bread.

We got the dingy from the V-Berth and filled its 4 air compartments using an electric pump. After attaching the seat and two oars, we put it into the water, then added the electric outboard shaft, followed by the lithium battery, handset control mechanism, red plastic piece to secure the battery to the shaft and finally a magnetic key so we could turn on the motor.

At 7:50 AM we dingied into shore and were ready for our clearing in at 8:00 AM. The Quarantine official was already there, and by the time we were finished with him the Customs and Immigration personnel had arrived. Three officials in all. We were the first to clear in of all the boats that hadn't cleared in yesterday.

After clearing in we were scheduled for a 1/2 day tour of the island starting at 9:00 AM. We started late and while waiting for our tour guide and driver I was able to call home.

Right next to the covered area we cleared in at, was a tree trunk with a hollow in the trunk four feet above the ground that had a sliver boobie sitting on a nest in it. You could see that a bird was in the hollow of the tree from a distance because one of the bird's white feathers was sticking up out of the hollow.

We headed out on our tour around 9:20 AM. Our driver and tour guide was John. Tom and Sandra from Sweet Pearl, a Switzerland Rally boat, joined us in the 4 wheel SUV. . Because of the terrain we were going into, we needed a 4 wheel drive vehicle. The terrain into the jungle was that tough.

During our tour we engaged John in a lot of questioning so we could learn as much about Christmas Island as we could during our brief stay. John was all too happy to keep talking. What we learned is that the two main employers on the island are the detention camp and phosphate mine operation. The former houses persons making it to Christmas Island so they can claim Australian citizenship. The most recent refugees are from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are 1,200 to 1,800 people on the island. 60 % are Chinese; 20% Milasian; and 20% 'other,' which includes white Australians and Europeans. The island was first sighted but not named in 1615; and it was named in 1643 on Christmas day, hence the name Christmas Island. The only anchorage on the island is called Flying Fish anchorage and was so named by a vessel anchoring there in 1887 named, you guessed it, the HMS Flying Fish. Go figure.

The detention or refugee center was built to house 400 refugees, has held as many as 3,000 but currently houses less than 1,000. Over 3/4 of the island is a National Park.

A cyclone March of this year hit the island as a Category 1, then grew later on and became a Category 5. During our tour it became obvious that a big storm had hit the island recently due to the number of trees felled.

Christmas Island is mainly noted for the march of the red crabs or crab migration. These crabs, some weighing up to 4 kilos, march by the millions from the land to the sea to spawn, once a year. They do this after the 3rd phase of the moon after the first rain in the rainy season. Its a 3 1/2 week process. To make sure that cars on the island don't decimate the crabs when they're moving, underpasses have built so that the crabs can cross roads by going under the roads. There is grating above the underpasses because they found out that if the top of the underpasses are covered the crabs won't enter because they don't like to move in the dark.

During World War II the Japanese invaded and occupied the island for 3 1/2 years, the only territory of Australia to fall into enemy hands during the war. They were a big purchaser of phosphate before the war, and wanted to use the mines there to produce phosphate during the war. However, most of the technicians had left before the Japs arrived, and the remaining workers had sabotaged most of the plant equipment so that it took a long time for the plant to become productive. Finally, the first ship loaded with phosphate was sunk by the British after being loaded.

The island itself is shaped like a dog, and layered like a wedding cake; was created via a volcanic sea mount and has a closed canopy rain forest.

Flights to the island include 3 to and from Perth, Australia every week and 1 freight plane per week. The flight from Perth is about 3 1/2 hours and costs $1,000 AUD.

During the rainy season the island gets about 2 meters of rain, or 78 inches. Tampa, Florida gets from 50 to 55 inches of rain a year.

In the last 2 1/2 years 4 cruise ships have pulled up to the island, but only one was able to land passengers. The reason was they came at the wrong time of the year. For example, one came to visit on Christmas Day. Why not visit Christmas Island on Christmas Day?! However, in the summer the winds can come from the north, making the anchorage untenable. So that's why 3 of the 4 cruise ships couldn't land their passengers. The wind was from the north.

Excluding the World Cruising Club boats in our Rally, only about 20 to 30 sail boats stop at Christmas Island every year. And the two biggest 'tourist' events during the year are when a bunch bird watchers descend on the island in December; and when our Rally boats stop by.

The roads on the island were built by the mining companies during their surveying of the island for phosphate.

Back to our tour....

Stop number 1 was at 'Dale #1.' Dale is a Scottish term for valley or low lying area. We walked into the rain forest on elevated platforms, and saw a number of large crabs along the way.

Another area we stopped at was called the Dales Ramsar Site, an area covering 57 hectares. It is called the 'Ramsar' site after a treaty with Iran in 1971 'to promote the conservation and sustainable use of wetland areas worldwide.'

Then we went to an area called The Blowholes. These blowholes are limestone pinnacles that have been sculpered by the eroding effects of salt spray, wind, rain and sun. Cracks, fissures and holes have formed in the rocks. Waves have also shaped the coastline by wearing away and undercutting the sea cliff. The surge of the swells against the sea cliff forces the sea water up thru the cracks and fissures with such force that it is thrown high into the air. You can hear when a big blow is coming because a loud rumbling noise is heard before the water gets to the top of the crack or fissure and 'blows out.' As such, its relatively easy to take pictures of the spray as it shoots way up into the air.

Our final stop was at Margaret Knoll on the south side of the island at the island's highest point. We were lucky in that we saw 4 brown footed boobies, two females and two juveniles, right next to and below our viewing platform. One juvenile flew in with a bumpy landing, then its mother regurgitated food into its mouth. Quite a sight!

Our tour was over at around 1:00 PM, and John dropped us off at the Noodle House for lunch. There we joined Tim and Claire from Ghost for lunch.

After that we went to a grocery store that was remarkably well stocked. I was able to buy a case of diet coke that I couldn't get in Bali; some paper towels and toilet paper (you can never have too much paper products on board); some canned butter; some junk food and a few other items.

Next we stopped at the tourist office and picked up some postcards, a shirt, a DVD on the island and some miscellaneous stuff.

Then we headed back to the boat, a mile or so away;.arriving there at 3:30 PM. We then added fuel from 3 jerry cans into the main fuel tank; and then as I unloaded and stored the groceries and filled out postcards Joel took a nap. Joel was coming down with a cold. I wonder where he got that from? The 'iron man' finally succumbs. He IS human. Who knew?

A BBQ was held by the dingy beach and pier area from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, with brats, steak and chicken on a stick and salads being served. All we had to bring were our own drinks. After heading back to our boat, we got on Nexus a while later and celebrated Jeanine's birthday. Laurie from Nexus cooked up a couple of cakes that were great. Plus popcorn, as Jeanine is a popcorn addict! Tim and Claire joined the party from Ghost tied up on Nexus' starboard side.

Jeremy and Joel went to bed at 9:45 PM and I followed at 10:15 PM after typing up one log.

Brian Fox



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