Headed to Christmas Island Monday

Headed to Christmas Island Monday any information any ideas?

John Lowther

Which one? The one in the Pacific or the one in the Indian?

I can't help you about either, but others that may be able to help will need to know which one.

Which one? The one in the Pacific or the one in the Indian?

 

I can't help you about either, but others that may be able to help will need to know which one.

Pacific Ocean Kiritimati

Pacific Ocean Kiritimati

Hi there.

I visited Kiritimati ( Christmas island) some 9 years ago with my daughter,pre camera diving. We stayed at the Captain Cook Hotel in one of their small beach bungalows..Facilities were sparse but adequate, rooms were clean, breezes kept the indoor temps comfortable, and hot water was there for showers.Drinking water was provided, and you were advised not to drink nor use the tap water for brushing teeth etc. Meals were served Buffet style in the main building.Breakfasts were good, lunches, you made yourself after breakfast could be a bit sparse, and dinners by far were the best, always with several options.Beaches were white sand, deserted and littered with beautiful sea shells, and unfortunately occasional medical waste as well. We did our diving with Kim Anderson, who lived across the island from the resort.He would either come and pick us up in the morning, or leave us his truck to make the 20 minute or so drive to his boats. He provided the most relaxed diving I have ever done anywhere, Sites, dive times,duration, and number,were left up to us.No night dives were offered however. It was not unusual for us to be snorkeling with either dolphins or mantas, between dives. We stayed out on the boats all day once there, hence the need for the sack lunch..With the no name lunch meat having limited appeal, we opted most days for the peanut butter , or stashed bacon from the morning meal, vowing to bring along pkg tuna or jerky, if we were to return.

Most of our diving at that time was done with in the lagoon..from outrigger boats with outboards. They also had been designed with a deck and sturdy ladder to make exits and entrances back into the boat easy.There were never any other dive boats to contend with, although we occ. saw the local aquarium trade divers at work. At that time there was a huge diversity of marine life..Nudibranchs, eels, tons of small tropicals, Bumphead Wrasse, Mantas, StingRays, turtles, and sharks. I have since heard that the shark population there has been sorely depleted by the fin fisherman. we did do a couple shore dives, which due to the entries required booties and strap fins.

For the remote location as this is, I thought all together that it was a fantastic introduction for us at the time into Pacific diving. The water was fairly calm during the month of June when we visited,with water temps in the mid 70s, currents minimal to moderate at times.The air could be a bit chilly on our surface intervals, and we made good use of the windbreakers that we had been advised to bring along.Rainfall was minimal during our stay. The staff with both the diving and the resort went out of their way to make the stay very enjoyable. This is a very poor country, with the inhabitants having very little. Diets are poor,life expectancy low, health care for the most part non exsistent. Be sure to take any medications and first aid supplies you might need. When we left the island, we actually left our first aid kit with Kim, knowing that it would be put to good use, and for us, easily replaced.

I 've often given thought to returning to the island, especially now that I appear to have a camera attached to me when I dive..Would love to hear your thoughts and observations on your return.

Hi there.

I visited Kiritimati ( Christmas island) some 9 years ago with my daughter,pre camera diving. We stayed at the Captain Cook Hotel in one of their small beach bungalows..Facilities were sparse but adequate, rooms were clean, breezes kept the indoor temps comfortable, and hot water was there for showers.Drinking water was provided, and you were advised not to drink nor use the tap water for brushing teeth etc. Meals were served Buffet style in the main building.Breakfasts were good, lunches, you made yourself after breakfast could be a bit sparse, and dinners by far were the best, always with several options.Beaches were white sand, deserted and littered with beautiful sea shells, and unfortunately occasional medical waste as well. We did our diving with Kim Anderson, who lived across the island from the resort.He would either come and pick us up in the morning, or leave us his truck to make the 20 minute or so drive to his boats. He provided the most relaxed diving I have ever done anywhere, Sites, dive times,duration, and number,were left up to us.No night dives were offered however. It was not unusual for us to be snorkeling with either dolphins or mantas, between dives. We stayed out on the boats all day once there, hence the need for the sack lunch..With the no name lunch meat having limited appeal, we opted most days for the peanut butter , or stashed bacon from the morning meal, vowing to bring along pkg tuna or jerky, if we were to return.

Most of our diving at that time was done with in the lagoon..from outrigger boats with outboards. They also had been designed with a deck and sturdy ladder to make exits and entrances back into the boat easy.There were never any other dive boats to contend with, although we occ. saw the local aquarium trade divers at work. At that time there was a huge diversity of marine life..Nudibranchs, eels, tons of small tropicals, Bumphead Wrasse, Mantas, StingRays, turtles, and sharks. I have since heard that the shark population there has been sorely depleted by the fin fisherman. we did do a couple shore dives, which due to the entries required booties and strap fins.

For the remote location as this is, I thought all together that it was a fantastic introduction for us at the time into Pacific diving. The water was fairly calm during the month of June when we visited,with water temps in the mid 70s, currents minimal to moderate at times.The air could be a bit chilly on our surface intervals, and we made good use of the windbreakers that we had been advised to bring along.Rainfall was minimal during our stay. The staff with both the diving and the resort went out of their way to make the stay very enjoyable. This is a very poor country, with the inhabitants having very little. Diets are poor,life expectancy low, health care for the most part non exsistent. Be sure to take any medications and first aid supplies you might need. When we left the island, we actually left our first aid kit with Kim, knowing that it would be put to good use, and for us, easily replaced.

I 've often given thought to returning to the island, especially now that I appear to have a camera attached to me when I dive..Would love to hear your thoughts and observations on your return.

I think it should be an adventure. Kim has just decided to leave the island and I had to find another dive company. I will let you know how it goes leaving tomorrow for Honolulu.

I dove Kiribati 10 yrs ago - absolutely fantastic place... (and Kim was a blast to dive with).

How are you getting there? I heard the Air Pacific flight stopped flying because of the condition of the runway...

There was a Japanese dive operator there - didn't have a boat so couldn't get to some of the best sites. Let us know what you find... (my wife has been wanting to go back for years - w/kids it doesn't work, with Kim leaving, definitely not).

Well made it back.

Air service is tough. 16 passenger charter from Honolulu.

Diving was beyond my expectations and it was great. You can tell that there are not many divers I dove with Christmas Island Diving. Normal island boat but it was easy to dive off and the dive master made sure to get the best site based on the day but it was first class service and the air was top quality. Large and small life and the reef is in good shape.

At this point Kim is up in the air I heard several different things while there but he was not diving. And was not on the island.

Prepare to have a great time and every step is a challenge but it is worth the trouble.

John

So was it a 16 seater lear jet (meaning Frontiers has high-end clientele fishing that week) or was it a 16 seater turbo prop (meaning the normal folk were traveling)?

When we were there we were treated to Mola Molas for about half the week - they were just hanging out around Grapple Rocks - the DM said this was a rare sighting, but having 4 of them hang around made it seem like they weren't lost...

Did you get to dive the wreck of Aeon (great beach dive)? I still have 3 brass bolts from the wreck that Kim let me take home (although he has the brass porthole I found Over the edge of the plateau that this wreck sits on is also where the grey reefies got a little agitated.

16 seat turbo prop. Normal clients with Frontiers. I wished it was a jet. I will be back again I have a few more GT's to catch the best was 65 pounds. But more diving as I think there are a lot of places left to dive on the island.

John