The Island of Christmas

If you’re like me and have watched a LOT of nature documentaries, you’ve inevitably seen tales of a remote island near Indonesia that is home to red crabs that perform a mass migration each year, covering the ground like locusts as they swarm from one side of the island to the other. This extinct volcanic peak near Indonesia is an Australian territory named Christmas Island, and it is exactly the sort of bizarre, off-the-beaten-path spot that appeals to weirdos like Audrey and me. The red crab migration won’t be ongoing while we’re here, but over the next week we’re still looking forward to being robbed by giant coconut crabs (aka “robber crabs”), attacked by frigate birds, and wowed by colorful underwater creatures.

The logistics of planning a trip to Christmas Island weren’t as extreme as some trips we’ve taken, but they were still a challenge. I’m writing this from the one available flight to the island, and it departs only twice each week from Perth. Once we land we think we’ve rented a car – I got a PDF back from someone saying that there will be a car at the airport waiting for us – and we’re pretty sure we’ve rented a house, although so far we know what road the house is supposed to be on, but not its actual address, and we’re honestly not sure if street numbers are a thing here or not. We contacted both of the dive shops on the island, but one of them was waiting on metal to patch their boat, so we decided to reserve four days of diving with the shop whose boat still floats. The interwebs have conflicting reports as to whether there is an ATM on the island or not, but there does appear to be a bank that will exchange currency, and we’ve got our fingers crossed that credit cards will be accepted in some locations. With a population of only around 1700, it’s a good bet that services will be very limited.

All in all we’re not totally sure what we’ve gotten ourselves into, but we do know that this bit of the trip will be another fun adventure in the midst of the many excellent adventures that have unfolded during our little odyssey down under.

UPDATE: We’ve arrived, and an ancient Toyota Rav4 with only a few missing pieces was waiting for us at the airport. It still has almost half of its original paint, it drives most of the time, you barely notice the bits that have corroded away, and the place where the shocks used to be isn’t as much of an impediment to driving as you might expect. On the flip side, we found our house rental, and it is AWESOME. Our divemaster recommended it, and it’s a Balinese villa with gardens filled with red crabs that make Audrey happier than she’s ever been. And speaking of the divemaster, he stopped by tonight to get us to sign waivers, and he’s also awesome; after we finished signing he drove us back to his shop/house to try on rental gear, then gave us a five minute tour around town. It’s going to be a fun week.