Hilo - Christmas Island Kiribati 1,023 nm 7.7 hours
I left Hilo about 8 am Tuesday Morning, flew directly south across over 1,000 nautical miles of absolutely nothing but water and arrived at Christmas Island at about 4 pm on Wednesday. (It seems that the government of Kiribati decided to shift the international date line a few thousand km to the East so that they would be the first country to greet the new millennium 1 Jan 2000. While it did put the whole country on the same day for a change it does seem to be a bit of an anomaly. The same President was reelected the day before I arrived and had apparently decided that the standard 4 year term in office is not applicable anymore and he has now been elected for life. The constitution is only a piece of paper anyway?)
Arrival at Cassidy International airport in Christmas Island was uneventful. I managed to find someone who knew how to get ahold of the fuel people who arrived with a nice looking barrel of AVGAS for me. Eventually the local Customs officer made an appearance riding onto the apron on his bicycle looking pretty laid back in his shorts and no shoes. Formalities were minimal with the officials giving me my entry and exit clearance on the spot.
Christmas Island was my first exposure back to the world of Aussie dollars. (apparently decided to go with the mighty A$ after the British left after nuking the atmosphere for about 30 years - maybe that is why there are thousands of giant crabs roaming the island?)
I took a quick look at the Captain Cook Hotel before deciding that camping on the beach would do the trick. Amazingly there is a local dive operation run my an American guy who has been there for 10 years. Needless to say the diving was superb.
The only other visitors to Xmas Island other than occasional ferry pilots are American fly fisherman who come for the Trevally and Bone fish in the immense shallow water flats around the island.
After two nights on Xmas Island being stalked by giant crabs in my tent I decided to get on the move again.
Off to American Samoa on Friday morning to once again cross the date line for the second time getting the day lost back again for a short while.
Not too may photo opportunities on Christmas Island but here is a shot of the numerous saltwater flats from the air to give you a flavour for the place.
American Samoa next.
JB
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