Everything you need to know about Christmas Island

Christian Island, quite small and isolated land from the rest of the world, is located in the Indian Ocean. Lately, the island gets a lot of attention from scientists and naturalists for its wonderful habitat, which is especially preserved as a national park. In this post, you get answers to your questions like "Where is Christmas Island?", "How to get to Christmas island?", "Where are the main flights to Christmas island from?" and "What is the best time to visit Christmas island?", "What vaccines are needed for a visit to Christmas Island?" and interesting facts about Christmas island.

About Christmas Island

? How is the Christmas Island map? Christmas Island is the territory of Australia, which is located in the Indian Ocean and ruled by Australian law. However, the nearest neighbour of the island is Indonesia. The island is 500 km away from Jakarta, Indonesia. This little territory is about 135 square kilometres. How to get to Christmas Island? Although the island is isolated from the rest of the world, there are various flights to Christmas Island from Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The duration of flights to Christmas Island is approximately 3 hours from Perth, Australia. Moreover, you can visit Christmas Island by sea. It is a great place for sailors and sea-lovers. The main point of civilization and the major part of the island is Flying Fish Cove, in the northeast of the island. This port is often visited by yachts and other ships. There are interesting facts about Christmas Island, as the name of the territory. The First European who visit Christmas Island was Richard Rowe of Thomas in 1615. The island was named on 25 December -Christmas Day after 28 years from the first visit, by William Mynors. The current design of the Christmas Island flag is a result of the design competition. Thus, The Christmas Island Assembly decided to hold a competition for the Christmas Island flag in 1986. Official Christmas Island flag was determined to be the same winning design, which was using as an informal flag more than a decade after 2002.

Population

Where is the Christmas Island population from? The population of Christmas Island is 1824, according to statistics of 2016. The main settlement area is Flying Fish Cove. Historically, the majority of the population have Indian, Malay, and Asian Australians of Chinese descendants. Malay, English languages, and some Chinese dialects are in use by local people of the island. Answering questions about Christmas Island religion is optional, and 28 percentage of the population do not declare their beliefs. However, Islam and Buddhism are the most popular religions in the area. More interesting facts about Christmas Island are related to childbirth and an increasing number of females in the past. According to statistics of 2016, 50.7% of the popularity is female, and 49.3 per cent people are male. There was a different situation in 2011; in the past, the majority of the population were male. Also, since the year 1998, no childbirth has happened on the island. Pregnant mothers travel to Australia about one month before the expected date of birth.

Nuclear tests

are one of the things that make this territory well-known around the world. Unfortunately, in 1957, The British Military conducted Christmas Island nuclear tests to observe everything about nuclear weapons. Christmas Island has been used as a military base to do tests in the Pacific Oceans, and this period has continued for six years. Although Christmas Island nuclear tests ended years ago, damage to the atomic bombs and other weapons are still observable.

Facts about Christmas Island

What is special about Christmas Island? What vaccines are needed for a visit to Christmas Island? If you want to learn more about Christmas Island, then keep reading! In today's article, you will find out some interesting facts about Christmas Island.

1. Residents of the island call themselves "Christmas Islanders." It feels like living Christmas every time, right?
2. More than 20 species of land crabs, approximately 45 millions red crabs who maintain the healthiness of the rainforests, are the permanent residents of the island. It would not be wrong if we call the land "island of crabs."
3. "Island of crabs" is the perfect definition, if you know there are more crabs than people! There are only 1824 residents related to 2016 statistics!
4. Two of three-part of the island is National Park.
5. One of the wonders of nature happens here, Christmas Island. One hundred twenty million red crabs migrate from forest to sea to breed. It is a magnificent event that you can never see anywhere in the world! Every year, tourists all around the globe come to the island to witness this spectacular occurrence. This event lasts for several weeks and limits the activities on the roads. All the migrated creatures are protected by Australian law and also by locals of the island.
6. The Australian dollar is the official currency unit of Christmas Island.
7. There are 14 types of snails, near to 30 various butterflies and spiders, a kind of scorpion, and five different types of false scorpions on this tiny island. Numbers are likely to increase or new explorations founded by scientists.
8. Exporting phosphate is the main activity on the island.

Christmas Island Tourism

What is the best time to visit Christmas Island? What vaccines are needed for a visit to Christmas Island? What is Christmas Island Casino? Christmas Island is famous for its untouched natural environment and incredibly various species and animals. Because of the variousness and naturality of the region, the whole island turned to a preservation park called "National Park." As you can see from the Christmas Island map, National Park located in a very large part of the island. Besides the park, there is the Christmas Island resort, also called the Christmas Island Casino. It is a holiday resort and one of the main tourist activities in the region. Christmas Island Casino has been carrying on tourist activities since the 1990s. Accommodation in this resort equals the five stars hotels, so do not worry about your comfort! There are many beautiful and comfortable beaches to visit all around the island. You can see two close beaches: Lily Beach and Ethel Beach on the northeast of the Christmas Island map. What is special about Christmas Island beaches is the clear water and beautiful sightseeing besides the magnificent sea world. How to get to Christmas Island beaches? There is no so much distance from Christmas Island Airport to these beaches, so travelling by car is a sane option. Be sure that even if these beaches would be too far from the centre, it will be worth every mile to visit Christmas Island beaches. There are some entertaining tourist activities which you should try for living the spectacular travel experience. For example, Christmas Island holds the most amazing scuba-diving tours in Australia. You have the opportunity to see the magnificent undersea world with your own eyes. In this tour, you will get a chance to meet dolphins, whale sharks, tropical fish, corals, and the rest of the amazing marine life. Besides witnessing all the wonders, you can also record the activities. Undersea photography will increase your portfolio to another level! You can also experience birdwatching in the untouched rainforests and explore endemic species that you can not see anywhere else. What is the best time to visit Christmas Island? Year-round is suitable to travel to the island because the temperature is slightly changing during the year. If you want to witness the red crab migration, November to December is the best time to visit Christmas Island. Before travelling to the island, be sure that you have followed vaccinations of hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningitis, chickenpox, influenza, pneumonia, etc.

Flora and Fauna

Fauna? Christmas Island has a rich flora and fauna environment. Thus, because of geographical isolation, this land can stay untouched, and a minimal number of people have lived in these areas. It has led to a great level of endemism in both fauna and flora of the island. A great part of the island is protected as a National Park. Besides the rainforests, the island hosts unique plants, which do not exist in any other place except Australia. 18 unique one of 135 plant species are known. There are also some threatened or already extinct species - animals and plants in the borders of National Park. Rainforests are good-looking and healthy despite nuclear tests and mining activities going on in these areas for more than a century. Humidity helps to grow ferns, orchids, and vines. Unfortunately, two different species of native rats have become extinct since establishing civilization on the island. Sea creatures, also crabs and sea birds are considered as a significant part of the fauna on the island. Observation of the migration of red crabs is one of the favourite tourist activities in the region. Although the serious damage of nuclear weapons to water sources, now, springs and wells supply fresh water for the local people, animals, and other species.