Christmas Island
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| Christmas Island
| |
 Christmas Island |
Christmas Island is a quadrilateral with hollowed sides, about 19 km (12 miles) in greatest length and 14.5 km (9 miles) in extreme breadth. The total land area is 135 km² (52 square miles), with 138.9 km (86.3 miles) of coastline. The island is the flat summit of a submarine mountain more than 4,572 m (15,000 ft) high, the depth of the platform from which it rises being about 14,000 feet (4267 m) and its height above the sea being upwards of 305 m (1,000 ft). The mountain was originally a volcano, and some basalt is exposed in places such as The Dales and Dolly Beach, but most of the surface rock is limestone accumulated from the growth of coral over millions of years. Steep cliffs along much of the coast rise abruptly to a central plateau. Elevation ranges from sea level to 361 m (1,184 ft) at Murray Hill. The island is mainly tropical rainforest, of which 65% is National Park. The narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard.
A container port exists at Flying Fish Cove with an alternative container unloading point to the south of the island at Norris Point for use during the December to March 'swell season" of seasonal rough seas. There are four weekly flights into Christmas Island Airport from Perth, Western Australia operated by Virgin on Tuesdays, Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays with an additional international flight to Kuala Lumpa on Saturday mornings (operated by Malaysia Airlines).
Christmas Island is 360 km south of Jakarta, Indonesia and about 2600 km northwest of Perth.
Charts
- Source
- Chart Number - Chart Name
- Chart Number - Chart Name
- Source
- Chart Number - Chart Name
Weather
Tropical with a wet and dry season; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds; wet season December to April.
Sources of weather forecasting here.
Passages
List popular passages/routes, timing, etc.
Islands
List islands and island groups belonging to this country. If there is more then 2 paragraphs for a given island, create a dedicated page for it (Island Template and/or Island Group Template).
Communication
- Christmas Island operates a Volunteer Marine Rescue during the hours of 8am until 5pm. CI VMR should be contacted by VHF before mooring.
Also see World Cruiser's Nets.
Any navigation notes here. If this section does not apply remove it.
Entrance
Arrival
Details?
Departure
Details?
Customs and Immigration
Immigration clearance is managed through Customs. Customs can be contacted on channel 16 (VHF) through the VMR.
Fees and Charges
Restrictions
Health and Security
Health
Christmas Island has one hospital where basic medical services are available. There are not private medical services (such as GP, dentist etc) on the island. CI Hospital does not offer an Intensive Care Unit or surgery services and most critical/emergency patients are sent to Perth via Medivac (using the Royal Flying Doctor Service). There are no midwifery services on Christmas Island.
Security
The island is safe all times of the day in the populated areas, locals usually leave their houses and car unlocked. There are no poisonous or dangerous animals/insects on the island.
Berthing
Ports
- Flying Fish Cove - has a boat ramp and jetty and, for most of the year, it is possible to land a tender on the beach
Marinas & Yacht Clubs
Use this section only if there are few marinas not covered in pages under Ports and Islands above. Remove if not applicable.
Anchorages
Transportation
List transportation to other countries, etc.
Facilities
Water
Give details on water for any ports that provides it. If there are no water outlets just enter "None".
If you have the GPS coordinates of a water outlet. Please provide them along with any applicable telephone numbers etc. If you do not have the GPS coordinates, remove the "|lat=" & "|lon=" entries,
Port1 [[Christmas Island#Port1|Port1]]
Port2 [[Christmas Island#Port2|Port2]]
Electricity
Give details on electricity outlets for any ports that provides them. If there are no electricity outlets enter "N/A (Not Available)".
If you have the GPS coordinates of the electricity outlet area. Please provide them along with any applicable telephone numbers etc. If you do not have the GPS coordinates, remove the "|lat=" & "|lon=" entries,
Port1 [[Christmas Island#Port1|Port1]]
Port2 [[Christmas Island#Port2|Port2]]
Toilets
In Flying Fish Cove.
Showers
In Flying Fish Cove.
Laundry
?
Garbage
?
Supplies
Fuel
There is, however, a fuel point (gas station) a short distance (about 200m) from Flying Fish Cove that is open 6 days a week that sells petrol and diesel. Close to the gas station is a supermarket which is perfect for provisioning.
Cooking gas
Give details on cooking gas (Camping Gaz, butane, propane, etc) suppliers. If there are no suppliers in the island just enter "None".
Suplier1 [[Christmas Island#Suplier1|Suplier1]]
Suplier2 [[Christmas Island#Suplier2|Suplier2]]
Chandlers
There is no chandlery on Christmas Island.
Services
Repairs
N/A (Not Available)
Internet
In the main town.
Mobile connectivity
Is there mobile telephone signal such as G4, G3, GPRS in the island? How strong is the signal? Are there any blind spots?
Vehicle Rentals
Car hire is available through a number of small private operators, however be aware of the expense. Information about this and other services is available at the CI Tourism Association Tourist Centre which is located a short walk from Flying Fish Cove.
Post Office
In the main town.
Provisioning
- Close to the gas station in Flying Fish Cove there is a supermarket which is perfect for provisioning.
- There is a small whitegoods store which sells basic computer equipment, fridges (but not marine fridges or fridge components) and DVDs/movies.
Eating out
In the main town.
Tourism
History
Give a short history of the island.)
Places to Visit
List places of interest, tours, etc.
Friends
Contact details of "Cruiser's Friends" that can be contacted for local information or assistance.
Forums
List links to discussion threads on partnering forums. (see link for requirements)
Links
- Christmas Island at the Wikipedia
References & Publications
- Indian Ocean Crossing Notes by Tony Herrick
Books, Guides, etc. Use the Reference template or not at your discretion. For example:
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{{Reference|Rod Heikel|Greek Waters Pilot|Imray Laurie and Wilson, Cambridgeshire|9780852889718}}, expands to - Rod Heikell, Greek Waters Pilot Imray, Laurie and Wilson, Cambridgeshire, ISBN 9780852889718
- Author, Title, Publisher, ISBN ISBN number
- Author, Title, Publisher, ISBN ISBN number
You may want to remove the above entries and use instead a link to the Country or Region that lists the relevant references. If so enter, after removing {{MagentaText|xx}}, the following:
See [[Country or Region#References_&_Publications|Coutry or Region]].
If you do not use the above link, please remove it.
Comments
We welcome users' contributions to the Wiki. Please click on Comments to view other users' comments, add your own personal experiences or recommend any changes to this page following your visit.
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Names: Lighthouse |
