Christmas Island – Kiribati

Introduction

Known to its indigenous population as "Abakiroro" meaning - 'the far away land', "Kiritimati" which is its present official name - a straight translation of its English name, 'Christmas Island' as is widely known, is the largest coral atoll island in the world. The island was placed on the world map following its discovery by Captain Cook on Christmas eve of 1777. The information provided in this article is mainly from memorable personal experiences. I am passionate about Christmas Island having being born and grew up on it. I hope those of you who have lived and worked on Christmas Island; now living on the island and those of you who might consider visiting, will be able to associate with my wonderful experiences of the island or find this information of some use.

Location

Christmas Island is one in a group of eight idyllic coral atoll islands that form the Line Islands. The Line Islands are part of Kiribati as an independent nation. Its location on the world map "(2°N., 157°20'W) is about 285km south-west of Fanning Island (Tabuaeran), 670km north-north-west of Malden Island, 2,500km south of Hawaii and 2,700km north of Tahiti". (Work of: GARNETT, M.C. for the Kiribati government).

Land Area

The island has a land area which roughly spanning over "321sq. km with an equal area of saltwater and super saline lagoons. It has a large tidal lagoon with an area of about 160sq. km. which is situated at the western end of the island. To the eastern end of this lagoon, there are a series of several hundreds land-locked lagoons which cover a total area of about 168sq. km. The land is generally low-lying, seldom rising to more than 3 to 4 metres above sea level at the ocean rim". (Work of: GARNETT, M.C. for the Kiribati government). The exception to this being along the northern coast of the south-east peninsular where there are sand dunes. This has been one of my favourite rod-fishing spots off the beach and here, the maximum height is about 13 metres above sea level.

Population

Christmas Island has a population of about 3000 people. The Christmas Islanders are a mixture of Gilbert Islands group islanders. The island is owned by the Kiribati government and therefore, the majority of the people living on Christmas Island are mainly government workers. The Christmas islanders, like all their other I-Kiribati nationals or island folks, are all very friendly and welcoming people by nature.

Climate

The sun rises and sets at around six. The temperature is a constant 70°F to 80°F made stable by the prevailing easterly trade winds throughout the year. The rainfall is seasonal being heaviest between January and June. However, the rainfall never seem to last during the expected rainy months. The driest months are often from September to November.