Christian Island - Bring Your Camera

Bring Your Camera

Christmas Island is a tropical paradise. The island’s landscapes make for appealing images almost anywhere one might care to look. The countryside is dotted with immense groves of swaying palms, grassy fields and rugged picturesque seascapes. With a population of nearly 7,000 Kiribati citizens, most of these people make their meager living from the sea. It’s a very poor country and for most inhabitants, a subsistence living is all they will ever know. There are many, somewhat primitive, settlements interspersed along the two-lane, mostly paved roadway that circles the entire island. Shots capturing friendly local people, primitive dwellings and island culture can make for interesting photos in the waning late afternoon sunlight. With very little standing fresh water on the island, there are few pesky biting insects to interfere with shooting these colorful sunset images.

Don’t plan to visit Christmas Island to photograph any old war relics. In the last three years, a large European salvage company has removed more than 274 thousand metric tons of scraped and abandoned military equipment from the island’s landscape. The removal of the old tanks, troop transports, sunken boats and the general mechanization that makes up the machine of war, has made a significant environmental and aesthetic improvement to the island. I suspect someone also made a fortune in the world’s recycled steel market.

Where To Toss The Bags

Christmas Island is located 1,200 miles south of Hawaii and 200 miles north of the equator. Despite its remote location, getting to this angling mecca is not all that difficult. A simple hop from the west coast has you flying into Honolulu. It’s best to arrive at least one day before your flight to Christmas Island. The extra day helps if a bag or angler gets sideways along the way. The Air Pacific flight from Honolulu to Christmas Island normally departs at noon and flies only once a week. Miss the flight and you miss your trip! The flight is three and a half hours one way in a large comfortable jet and the round trip airfare adds about $1000.00 to the cost of your trip. Scheduled flights are on Tuesdays. There is an International Date Line crossing with this itinerary that can be confusing for some folks. Especially heading back on the last day of your trip, so check with your travel agent and make sure to double check every detail.

Arriving early in Hawaii is always the safe call and relaxing for a day or two in Waikiki never hurt anyone. Most guests prefer to stay at the Honolulu Airport Hotel (808.836.0661). With no option for lost gear to be flown in the next day to Christmas Island, we suggest careful redundant packing among your group’s members. This strategy helps to keep everyone fishing if someone’s gear bag turns up missing.

The flight from Christmas back to Honolulu departs at 7:00 a.m. Weather permitting; your flight will be back to Honolulu by 10:30 a.m. It is best to schedule homebound connections for after 12:30 p.m. In the past, it was necessary to obtain a tourist visa to visit Christmas Island. Now, all that’s required for entry into the country is a valid passport. Upon arrival expect to shell out $40.00 for a weekly fishing license. The cost for a week-long fishing package aboard Tuaraoi is $2895.00 per person. For additional information on this unique program contact Angling Destinations, Inc. (www.anglingdestinations.com).

Other Notes of Interest

About Christmas Island

• Christmas Island is the world’s largest coral atoll with a total land area (including the lagoon) of 248 square miles. It is located in the north of the Line Island Group of the Republic of Kiribati.
• Capitan James Cook passed through here on Christmas Day in 1777, thus the name.
• Towns located on the island are curiously named after European countries and cities. For instance; London, Paris and Poland.
• Christmas Island is the first inhabited place on earth to experience the New Year.
• Due to Christmas Island’s position in the Pacific, it is extremely far from the light generated by the world’s large population centers. Thus, the night sky is very dark. Being that it’s virtually on the equator, Christmas Island is also blessed with many cloudless evenings. This location is recognized as having the clearest, cleanest atmospheric conditions in the world. As such, several satellite tracking stations and the Asian Pacific Space Center are located on Christmas Island.
• The currency is Australian and the language is English.