Wildlife adventure on Christmas Island

FROM Jurassic wildlife to superb snorkelling and spectacular scenery, Christmas Island has a lot to offer nature-lovers.

Christmas Island red crab migration

FROM the sky, Christmas Island is shaped like a scottish terrier.

And, just like the popular highland breed, the remote island is small, rugged and resilient. The denizens, too, are also doggedly loyal, feisty and independent.

They've had to be: over the past decade or so, Christmas Island has become synonymous with many tragic man-made disasters.

Photos: Christmas Island in pictures

On my first day on the island, I meet local tour guide Lisa Preston for a glass of iced tea, which staff say, "is only served hot" at the Chinese Literary Association. "It's a CI thing," she says.

Preston is one of many proud locals committed to challenging the public's perception of the island and presenting its softer side: enchanting flora and fauna (much of it endemic to the island), cobalt-blue seas, white sand, sculpted cliffs and a rich, colourful cultural fabric with roots in China, Malaysia and Australia.

"I am lucky enough to spend time with visitors to the island and get to experience with them their sense of awe when they witness what it has to offer," says Preston, who arrived on the island 15 years ago.

"It's a very special place. One minute, you are deep in the jungle, the next minute you are underwater looking at the reef."

One of the main reasons the island which is about 63 per cent national park is on the bucket list for khaki-clad nature lovers is because of the annual mass migration of millions of Christmas Island crabs, which march down to the edge of the Indian Ocean to mate.

Documentary maker Sir David Attenborough lists the migration as one of the top 10 most memorable TV moments from his life's work.

And while people come from all over the globe to witness this phenomenon which occurs in November or December you can still see them skittering around the forest year-round.

The red crabs are only one of 14 species on the island, with the robber crabs the largest arthropods on the planet stealing a large proportion of the spotlight.

Visitors can experience another pristine expression of nature while on a snorkelling or diving expedition with Wet 'n' Dry Adventures.

Christmas Island rises straight up from the sea floor and has no continental shelf, which means we can hug the coastline and still explore deep ocean waters. Although I was hoping to cavort with a giant whale shark, I'm content with snorkelling in the fabulously clear, coral-filled ocean.

It's a transfixing scene: there's a giant clam with frilly pink lips, a pot-bellied puffer fish and a cache of corals, as well as parrotfish, surgeonfish, angelfish and a lone turtle.

Back on board, we spot a nesting Abbott's booby the world's largest, rarest booby a flock of giant Christmas Island frigate birds and a variable goshawk.

Next up is a somewhat compulsory candle-lit evening dip at "the Grotto", a cave studded with stalactites and a crystal-clear mix of salt and fresh water.

After an invigorating swim, we sidestep what looks like a nocturnal robber crab convention in the middle of the path. The fact they appear rather alien and sinister in the inky darkness adds to the drama and fun.

The townships on the island include the Kampong, where the Malays live; Poon Saan, which means "halfway up the hill" where the Chinese families live; Silver City, a mix of Chinese and Australian and Malay; Drumsite, where a few European and Chinese workers reside; and Settlement, where most of the shops and restaurants are.

A great place to get a sense of the community on Christmas Island is at the weekly open-air cinema. Details of the screenings are scrawled on a blackboard that acts as a town crier.

Near a roundabout, the board is updated weekly with the latest news, and it's not uncommon to see drivers circling the roundabout to have another rubberneck.

Preston's Panoramic Bird Tour also offers another perspective on the 135sq km island, where we get a bird's-eye view of the island's endemic giant frigate birds and variable goshawks wheeling and swooping below us at the Golf Course Lookout.

A detour to the Dales also delights: it's surely one of the prettiest swaths of forest on the planet, replete with tinkling streams, a spectacular waterfall and the lovely lichen-splotched limbs of giant fig trees.

Another must-see is "the Blowholes", which belch, hiss and roar like fire-breathing dragons. This is also the perfect vantage point overlooking rainforest-cloaked hills and dramatic coastline from which to view the island as a destination, and not just "that place with the detention centre".

The writer was a guest of the Christmas Island Tourism Association.

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CHRISTMAS ISLAND

Getting there: Virgin Australia flies to Christmas Island three times a week direct from Perth. The community also welcomes visiting yachts and has deepwater moorings at Flying Fish Cove.Bird week

When to go: This year's Bird 'n' Nature week is on from September 1-8 when visitors will be given the opportunity to colour-band the Christmas Island goshawks and monitor the Abbott's booby. See Christmas.net.au

Staying there: The most luxurious accommodation on CI is at The Sanctuary, but for more affordable accommodation the ocean-view rooms at the Sunset are clean and comfortable, as are the VQ3 and Captain's Last Resort.

More:Christmas.net.au/accommodation for details.