Christmas Island Part 2

Christmas Island (CI) was my preferred place to visit between the two Indian Ocean Islands.  I suppose I’m biased, having been born there.  Each island had its pros and cons.  If I had not come in a group and was without transport, Cocos, with its public bus, ferry and access either by walking or hiring a bike would be much easier to travel around compared to CI where you definitely need a vehicle if you want to venture outside the Settlement. CI has many murals painted on their buildings, which I enjoyed looking for. But above all else for me, CI has the old memories, accessible beautiful Flying Fish Cove (FFC), more variety of food venues to choose from and if you had transport, there were more interesting places to visit on the far flung corners of the island. 

Tuesday 19^th of July we woke early, but didn’t get going till 5:45am, when we collected Jen and two other ladies who wanted to join us in looking for the Malay kuih breakfast.  Driving to Poon Saan, we tracked down where Iris and Steve had pointed out the two homes that sold the morning food.  The first place looked very quiet, so we went to the next home.  Here a couple were busy making food so we told them we would be back later to give them time to get ready.  We drove on to Drumsite to see if we could find a second bakery that one of the girls had heard about, but it wasn’t where they thought it was. On our return we stopped at some local shops, checking out what was sold – pizza, fish and chips, a local grocery and a café which had a proper coffee machine.  It was then time to return for our kuih.  The second place we visited now had customers, so we joined the queue.  Here we ordered 14 curry puffs and 5 Malay pancakes with peanut-sugar topping before returning to the first home to buy sticky rice and coconut wrapped in banana leaves and 14 packets of nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk served with HOT chilli sauce). All the food was much cheaper than anywhere else on the island.  With our treats, we returned to base camp to divvy out our local delights, taking some for our neighbours, Cousin and Kiwi Jen and Lyn.

Later that morning we picked up Noi (our Thai member of the group) and her husband John, who wanted a lift to the Tai Jin House Museum which was in the old governor’s house just up from FFC. The road up, which had been cut into the cliff face, was very narrow only allowing one vehicle up at a time.  There were lights at bottom and top to direct traffic.  Prior to the Japanese invasion, the only access to the governor’s house was via the sea, by appointment only.  The Japanese had blasted access along the cliff so that the British flag could be taken down and their flag hoisted.  The very day the Japanese left the island, the residence raised the British flag once again.

The museum was not yet open, so we drove past it up the road to where there were large fuel tanks, diesel for the mines and marine fuel for the ships. Walking a little further, we stopped a passing ute to ask what was further up the road.  They were park rangers who were putting out cat traps and suggested we bring our cars as there was room to park at the end.  I ran back for the car and found on the road a dehydrated snake.  I was really surprised, as I was told there were no snakes on the island. One of the rangers later told us that there were two types of snakes, the one I found which was an oriental wolf snake (Lycodon Capucinus) and a blind snake (Ramphotyphlops exocoeti) which looked like a large worm, both were introduced to the island and both harmless.  The ranger was thrilled I donated my snake for them to preserve.  We didn’t get to the caves which were on this track, as they were closed due to falling rocks.

Back at the Tai Jin House museum, we joined some of the others who had also arrived.  Jen and I were delighted to see old photos of people we knew, even our Amma. The woman on duty rang to advise the supervisor of our visit. He asked if we would wait for him to come and meet us and Lyn.  He was very interested in things we had to share and suggested we get in touch with someone in Perth who was collecting memorabilia and photos for the museum. There was even a recording of different people’s experiences from living on Christmas Island in the early days.  We listened to recordings of people we knew, including one from Mum, and from Mr and Mrs Powell who we are still in touch with in Perth.  It was a very interesting morning. 

From here we drove back to the Chinese Exhibition Centre, which recorded a very different story of the tragic history, where Chinese Coolies were brought out from Singapore to work the mines and were treated like slaves.  Then in 1958 when Australia took over sovereignty, the Asian workers were liberated, given equality and granted Australian citizenship.

Driving back to our accommodation, we stopped to chat to Coops, one of the Hash members, who offered to take us out to Dolly Beach.   Vi-Lay and I jumped at the chance as we had been too exhausted to walk that far the previous time.  Jen who had gone previously came too.  With four in our group, we borrowed one of the hire cars, as the track was quite rough and very steep and so I didn’t want to take Clive’s vehicle. From Greta beach to Dolly Beach was longer than we thought so I’m glad we didn’t walk and then from where we parked the car it was nearly 2km one way; praise God it was mostly shaded by the pandanas and other palms along the trail.  This trail too had, in parts, a raised walkway, for which I was very grateful, as there were so many red and blue crabs.  My heart still jumps into my mouth with fear when I hear and see the red crabs.  I think I have PTSD from my childhood experiences with these crabs.  I don’t seem to have the same fear with the blue or robber crabs which are even bigger. I think it’s because swarms of red crabs came through our house, even hiding under our beds, during their migration to the sea.  Terrifying for a young child! 

As we came down the steps to Dolly Beach, there were about eight giant robber crabs raiding the coconuts which had been husked there.  Both Jen and I commented that the beach was not as sandy as we remembered it had been when we were young.  We walked to the other end of the beach where we put our swim bags on a high rock out of reach of the robber crabs, before taking a dip in the rock pools.  These were very shallow but we didn’t want to go out any further as it was quite rough. We then spent some time picking up the plastic debris off the beach before walking back with these bags to drop them at the car park.  The walk back seemed so much quicker.  Jen said she had read somewhere that this is because on the way there our brains are busy processing all the new information of our route and on the way back it can take it easy as it’s more familiar.  Interesting.

Back at camp we finished off our leftovers, the nasi lemak and our banana pudding. We were slowly getting through all the food we had brought.  We had to eat all the things that weren’t in their original packaging just in case we were questioned about it at customs when we returned to Perth. 

Wednesday I woke refreshed just after 4am, having taken Phenergan to help me sleep, as it was the day I was going to go out on the sea scooter and needed extra energy.  I had to wait for the sun to rise so I did some reading and caught up with blog writing. Vi-Lay and I often go out at different times, usually crossing paths to pass on the room key, but this  particular morning I went looking for her thinking she had already gotten to where she said she would be. When I got there I knew she hadn’t been, as I walked through a spider’s web.  We had been talking about putting the key somewhere, but it had never eventuated.  After this experience, I decided we should settle on a location.  First I thought about using a large rock beside the road, where it couldn’t be seen or taken by the crabs, but when I returned, I decided that outside our door in one of my reef shoes would be better. It turned out to be a wise move.

Exercises over and shower done, I breakfasted on some of our many island bananas and made sure my bag was packed for the day’s activities: snorkels, goggles, fins, reef shoes, hat and something to eat, just in case. Another memorable morning under the ocean, this time with video proof taken by the operator. We were shown how to operate the machines, then followed the operator from shore out over the reef.  There were several people who needed some assistance getting started but once ready, they were confidentially swimming, enjoying the reef life.  CI reef in comparison to Cocos was different, with more colours in the coral and a greater diversity of fish. 

As I approached the deeper waters, the daily scriptural devotional I had read that morning came to mind.  ‘Step out of your comfort zone and take a risk, otherwise you might later regret it’.  Instead of just floating on the surface where I felt safe, I took a deep breath, pointed the scooter down and plunged into the depths.  Wow!  What an experience!  It took a few times of feeling my eardrums about to burst under the pressure, before I asked how to equalise them; then I was right to proceed as far as my held breath would take me.  What fun!

I even saw a white tip shark which was about the same length as me!  Realising it was only a reef shark quelled my concern. I was the only one in a full length wetsuit, but I was glad I wore it as by the time we had turned to come back, I was starting to feel cold. We came back along the reef ledge which went from around 10mts to a vertical drop into the depths of the ocean.  It was spectacular!

Back at shore, Neesha asked if anyone wanted to go out on the fishing boat when it returned and swim with the Giant Trevally. Oh yes please!  I drove back to find Vi-Lay, but when she was not at the room, I called into the visitors centre where she mentioned she was going, calling out “Is my friend Vi-Lay here?”  She popped her head up from the rack of clothes, “Yes”, then followed me to the car and back to FFC. Then she wanted to change into her bathers so back to the room, change, grab a few things and back to the cove to wait for the boat to return. Jen had been on the fishing trip and showed us her photos of the giant fish milling around the boat.  There were 3 more trips out, ours being the last, as there was a maximum of seven permitted to board.  Arriving at the usual spot, the skipper couldn’t find them.  Neesha and Danny jumped into the water to look, while the skipper took the boat out for a few wheelies, the noise of the engine letting the fish know we had arrived.  It worked, as six huge black shapes came into view.  Once again I stepped out of my comfort zone, jumping in amongst these monsters of the sea.  Neesha eventually persuaded Vi-Lay to join us in the water, holding one hand onto the steps of the boat and the other clinging to Neesha’s hand.  It was truly a memorable occasion for all of us to swim with these amazing fish.

Back to shore, where Jen was having her photo taken with the two fish they caught that morning, with the promise that we could have the head and bones for the Tom Yum soup we had planned for the following day. Then back to the room for shower and dry our clothes before visiting the scooter operator who airdropped me some memorable photos from my morning’s adventure under the sea

That evening we joined everyone for the Hash dinner, Korean BBQ.  It was a fun night with a lovely dinner, although only a few greens; leaves of cos lettuce and kimchi.  There were oodles of beef, pork belly strips, and chicken which we ate with wild rice.  After eating, many participated in group karaoke, which went on till late. Lyn, myself and one of the guys left early.  I was asleep by the time Vi-Lay snuck in at 9pm.  By 2:30am we were both wide awake, so chatted for half an hour before Vi-Lay fell asleep and eventually I did too.  She was up and gone before I woke up at 6:30am.  Jen had already been dropped off at The Incline to walk down.  I found Cousin Jen to get her to drop me at the entrance of the walk, hoping to catch up with my sister Jen.  It wasn’t a long walk, with the track eventually crossing Murray Rd where the library is located; here I climbed over the road safety rail to meet Jen and Sue who were waiting for me at the bottom.

Vi-Ly was back from her walk by the time I returned and had found the key hidden in our pre-arranged hiding spot inside my reef shoes.  We started packing our bags for our journey back to Perth, Jen arrived to get signatures in a Thank You card for Neesha. We then took our washing to her place, before taking a walk down memory lane so that Jen could take more photos of our old house and houses of friends we still knew in Perth who had been on the island when we lived there in the 50’s and 60’s. 

Back to put our washing out before we drove to Poon Saan to browse the op shop. We all bought something: Jen a book for her trip back across the Nullarbor, Vi-Lay two dresses and two tops and I bought one summer dress, all for around $1-$2 each. What a bargain!  From here we drove to Drumsite where we found the Territory Day Park, which both Jen and I recognised to be a favourite picnic spot when we were children.  The view of Flying Fish Bay and Settlement was spectacular.  Following the Territory Day Park Nature Trail we wove our way along a barely visible trail through the rain forest.  In places the forest floor looked freshly swept, Jen had read that it was due to the red crabs which cleaned below the tall trees, eating all the leaves and debris that fell.  There were red crabs everywhere.  I was starting to get used to them but only if they didn’t suddenly appear, startling me.  Along the trail there was sign-posted information about the flora and fauna found in this particular area. It was very interesting.

Stopping off at Poon Saan to check out the café, I had the best coffee since my own at home. I was very impressed.  The woman who served us said she was a chef, not a barista, although her sister was a barista.  It turned out they were Thai, one of 10 Thais on the island.  Next door was a local grocery store where we bought some blackboard chalk plus a small knob of ginger for tonight’s dinner.

Back in the Settlement we stopped first at the Post Office to check out the souvenirs, then down to FFC to see what was on their menu, before calling in to the Police Station to see if we could find the sergeant, but he was on his lunch break.  I then dropped Jen and Vi-Lay off to collect our washing before returning to our room for a snack, using up some more of our left over food we brought from Perth and gathering together what we needed for our late afternoon meal.

Jen walked back to the Library to check out the historical books to see if she could find the one with our parents’ wedding photo, before joining us for a snorkel at FFC.  Vi-Lay was very brave, jumping in from the platform at the end of the jetty and swimming with me to the shore.  She then hung around the shallows while Jen and I explored the reef along the shore.  After showering here, we all went back to Jen’s place where Noi helped make Tom Yum from ingredients she had salvaged from the Tavern the previous night including chili, lemongrass and basil, which were added to our stock cubes of Tom Yum, the knob of ginger, the fish head and bones and our last chicken breast.  In the end we made it stretch to feed from three to seven people.  By the time it was ready, there were only four of us eating, which was nice.  The others came a little later as they had been off doing their last minute duty-free shopping.  The other Hashers ate at their farewell BBQ.  Noi had also prepared papaya salad, which was very spicy hot, from some fresh papaya which she had found growing wild along the roadside.  I also prepared another batch of banana in coconut milk for dessert.  It was a very Thai-themed night.

Vi-Lay and I left early to write a big ‘THANK YOU NEESHA’ in chalk on the community notice board at the island’s big roundabout.  This blackboard is seen by all who live in the Settlement, as it’s the island’s main road junction.  Everyone coming down the hill must travel past it.  Only Jen knew what we were doing, as there had been quite a bit of tension amongst the Hashers.  Neesha and Danny had planned to stay on the island for six months, as Neesha will teach at the local high school.

That night we were up the latest we had been on holidays – 10pm!  I worked on the blog and Vi-Lay sorted her things for packing.  Sleeping late didn’t help us sleep in, as we were awake just after 4am!  By 5am I wasn’t waiting any longer for the light and went jogging in the dark along lit streets till the end of the Settlement, then on down the road looking out for robber crabs on the road in the dark.  Thank God I didn’t see any.  I went up to the Chinese cemetery before turning around and jogging back.  When I neared the old school, I stopped to do some bench presses on the wall; it was here I found what I’d previously been looking for – betel nut leaf.  I collected some to eat with the last bit of salami for lunch before our flight.

Back at the room I finished my exercises, while Vi-Lay went for a short walk; it was so humid that morning.  The rest of the morning we packed and repacked our bags, getting everything in the right place.  I decided I would wear shorts before the flight and change into my winter clothes before boarding, in preparation for the freeze on landing in Perth.

Although we needed to leave our room at 10am, we left Jen’s frozen food in the communal freezer and our snacks in the fridge before picking up Jen and her luggage.  We stopped to fill up on fuel, before heading to Poon Saan for a coffee and relax at the lookout to fill in time. We even found some ripe pink guava on a tree beside the road, which I picked and took with us.  Then back to our accommodation to pick up our food, before stopping one last time at FFC where we ate some of our leftover food.  Back up the hill past Drumsite to the airport, where I messaged Bruza and Clive to let them know I’d left the car there with a full tank. 

After putting our bags through and checking in, we sat and waited for the plane, eating more of the food we were not permitted to take back to Perth, including the guava, salami and betel leaves.  The flight arrived with those folks we had left at Cocos due to Covid, who disembarked before we all embarked on the last leg of the journey home.  The previous day I’d sent a message ahead to my neighbour, Kath, asking if she could please buy us some bananas for our breakfast.  I also asked her to please take the milk out of the freezer to defrost; she had rescued the milk from the fridge after our departure two weeks ago. And put it in the freezer.  I sent her another message from the airport to let her know we were about to depart.  She messaged back saying “Aren’t you home? I left the milk defrosting on the sink yesterday!”  Praise God it was winter as the milk was still cold when she went back to check.  I am truly blessed with such wonderful caring neighbours.

It was a three hour flight home, arriving in the dark and the rain. We had a bit of a wait getting off the flight and a longer one in the airport waiting for our luggage.  When our bags finally arrived, they were soaked!  Customs pulled the three of us aside as we had ticked items on the ‘to declare’ form. I declared my nuts and seeds in the muesli, no problem. Jen’s frozen fish, again no problem. Vi-Lays Jerky threw up a red flag until the officer saw it was a commercially bought product that hadn’t been opened. Then a short wait for the Uber to take us home. 

What a relief to eventually unload, hang up some of our wet clothes, shower and jump into our warm beds. Although it had been a long day, it took me awhile to unwind.  I fiddled around in my room so as not to disturb the others, tidied a few things and changed my mobile SIM back to my original number, receiving all the SMS messages I’d missed while I had been away. Finally after 11pm, I turned in for a good night’s sleep; exhausted and happy to be home!  We had made lots of amazing memories from our tropical island adventures.

Photos:  1. Frangipani from CI    2. Looking over the cliff from the Settlement    3. A memorial to Mum at the CI Museum    4. Robber Crab on walk to Dolly Beach    5. Phosphate conveyer belt    6. Me on sea-scooter    7. Wall mural for robber crab at FFC    8. Jen’s fishing trip    9. View of Flying Fish Cove from Drumsite Territory Day Park    10. PTSD red crab!    11. Last dinner on CI fish head Tom Yum    12. Vi-Lay on walk to Dale Falls    13. Showing our appreciation    14. White Frangipani

A few videos of some of my Adventures in the sea around Christmas Island.

Sea-scooter    fish on reef    Giant Trevally video clip

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise God for our safe return to Perth and no Covid while we were traveling or since our return.  Praise the Lord Vi-Lay is safely back in Sydney and Jen had a safe journey across the Nullarbor to S. Aust.

Please continue to pray with me for peace in Europe, for the children and families caught up in in this disaster, both in Ukraine and Russia.

Please continue to pray for my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat to come to know Christ’s love for them.