Dive sites in Christmas Island in Australia

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Dive sites descriptions for diving in Christmas Island - Australia by ADC Diving diving Antwerpen - Deurne

General about dive sites

There are descriptions and advisory dive books of many dive sites. Dare to invest in a book with dive sites and descriptions. It will make diving more pleasant and safe. Be careful not to work with old books! The soil structure, etc., changes constantly, eg sludge can be deposited on the rock bottom, etc.! As a result, the dive site descriptions could no longer be applicable.

There are also many dive websites, which have descriptions of dive sites and advise how to dive. Ask at the dive sites that you do not know, to other experienced divers, who also have experience with that dive site for information. You can also ask other divers for information, about how to dive and what to take into account.

Diving schools abroad often make their own dive site descriptions with a drawing of the bodem structure and sometimes also what life can be found there. They often display this information. Take your time to read that dive site information so that you are prepared to go diving.

Always ensure that outside the information of dive site itself, the meteo and the tide of relevant dive site and area are known. Meteo and tide information should always be available before you dive. You will notice, other meteorology or tides at the same dive site may make diving more pleasant, strongly discouraged or forbidden. By incorporating the current meteo and tidal data when diving, this will make diving safer and more pleasant.

To learn to dive, it is necessary to choose dive sites that are simple, have little or no steaming, are shallow and yet have a reasonable visibility. That is why diving schools, instructors or diving instructors choose students, mostly shallow places with sandy soils. In this way pupil divers can not destroy costly underwater estimations. This type of diving on vacation is of course not great for experienced divers.

diving and safty

For the safety measures you almost always have to take care of or check for yourself (oxygen bottle with mask, first aid kit, drinking water and communication tool with the emergency services). I know that many diving schools do not like this, but it is about you and your diving buddy's safety in the event of an accident. Look up the most important emergency telephone numbers of the hyperbaric centers and hospitals before you dive. Of course there are general emergency telephone numbers. But this is sometimes land dependent! Not everywhere you have a telephone network or range for mobile phones. Even if you are on a diving trip, you first ask and you also look for yourself if you have sufficient safety measures to dive. Diving schools abroad say too quickly that everything is okay for diving, but leaves safety to be desired. Local info and links have been added to most dive trip reports. Are there insufficient safety measures for diving? Do not dive or be very conservative!

Description of the dive sites and diving in Christmas Island - Australia in the Indian Ocean:

Dive sites in Christmas Island

In total, there are 37 different places on Christmas Island on which you can dive. 25°C is the lowest temperature of the water of the Indian Ocean that lasts from July to mid-September. Mid-wet season, the water is the warmest with a temperature reaching up to 28°C. During the plankton breeding period the visibility is only 10m; outside this period the visibility can be up to 50m. Rain affects the visibility of the ocean water to a lesser degree.

In addition, snorkeling can be done in the narrow strips of shallow water. Here you'll be surprised by the colourful marine life that is present between the beautiful corals. The most popular place for snorkeling is the Flying Fish Cove. When the ocean is too rough, you can go to Ethel Beach instead, where you can snorkel in a sheltered area.

Submarine Rock

To reach dive site Submarine Rock, we sail in 35 minutes from the port of Flying Fish Cove to the north-west of Christmas Island. The water temperature is 28°C and we have a sight of certainly 20m. Submarine Rock has a drop-off of 50m in depth, where the steep rock walls are covered with brown stone corals, with between many reef fish swimming around. It's recommended to regularly look in the blue to see the larger species. During this dive, we spot mainly White tip reef sharks, tunas, Jacks and Giant trevallies. From 9m depth, the steep wall goes over onto a sloping bottom which opens on the surface of Christmas Island. The safety decompression stop we can easily achieve on Submarine Rock. Afterwards we go back in the blue, so that Extra Divers can pick up easily with no risk of beating rocks or coral.

The Morgue

The Morgue consists of a gently sloping rock bottom that goes to a depth of 40m. Here as well, we see a lot of brown stone coral, with reef fish; some species we haven't even seen anywhere before. We also spot some special crabs and shrimp, but further than that there is little macro life to discover today. In the deeper part, we regularly see a white tip reef shark, along with some of the big schools of fish. On the surface, we come across a big school of crocodile longtom fish.

Coconut Point

The name of this dive site is based on the rock in front of the coastline where there's only a palm tree; a sort of reference point. Coconut Point consists of a gently sloping bottom with stone corals of different colours, but brown remains the most dominant. Here as well we see many reef fish and some even swim by in schools. The gentle slope of Coconut Point drops from 11m depth to 50m depth. This drop off is nicely grown with gorgonians and stone coral. In the blue, we spot among others, the wahoos, tunas and giant trevallies. Coconut Point is definitely worth it!

Full Frontal

In the rock walls of the dive site Full Frontal are some shallow cavities, which are inhabited by countless Striped brushing crayfish. The animals can be photographed with ease. The gently sloping bottom consists of a bit of sand and much-covered rocks. In the crevices of the rocks you can normally find electric shells; which, of course, aren't actually electric, but give off the same kind of light when you shine a torch or light on them. Unfortunately, no one can find one today. Full Frontal softly declines to a bottom of 14m, but then evolves in a steep slope of 45° that extends to 35m in depth. During this dive, we mainly see brown stone corals and many reef fish.

Perpendicular Wall

The dive site Perpendicular Wall is in the far north-west of Christmas Island. As this site is right on the corner of the island, where the open Indian Ocean streams towards, it's only possible to dive, when the wind isn't too powerful. During the dives, we look in the blue and see among others a hammerhead shark, a few white tip reef sharks and some giant trevallies. On Perpendicular Wall we jump into the water to a steep rock wall where several red crabs linger. Up to a depth of 11m depth, we have a soft descending soil; followed by a beautiful drop off with plenty of stem coral and gorgonians. Many Reef fish, schools of small fish and a beautiful school of Batfish come here to life. In some hollow cavities, we find some hiding Moray eels, who get pampered by the brushing and polishing fish. How cool we can observe it from this close.

Flying Fish Cove

The dive site Flying Fish Cove is just west of the port of Christmas Island. We start on a gently sloping bottom; from 18m, there's a small drop off and then it goes back to a slope. Here, too, brown stone coral dominates the view. Except for the usual Reef fish, we see a large Crawfish, a bit of coral, some shrimps in their shells and some crabs hidden in the Comatulida. The crabs are so active that we can't photograph them. A pity, but it's beautiful to look at!

Northwest Point

The dive site Northwest Point is located at the most north-western tip of Christmas Island, where the strength of the Indian Ocean is the strongest. That means that we are going to drift dive with the possibility of catching large fish such as whale sharks, sharks, manta rays, schools of barracudas, tuna, jacks and giant trevallies. The current is strong, but not impossible. Unfortunately, we do not see whale sharks, but we do see barracudas, bigeye trevallies and a turtle. At North West Point for the first 8m, the bottom has a soft sloping and then continuous into a steep slope and a plateau at 40m. At the end of the plateau you get a peek of the deep Indian Ocean. In the case you drift of the plateau, you obviously immediately need to cancel your dive and inflate your OSB, so that the skipper can pick you up. The brown stone coral here as well, is inhabited by many reef fish. On Northwest Point dives are relatively deep. When diving with nitrox; it's therefore important that the maximum diving depth is respected. Decompression isn't allowed, so none can lose track of their diving computer. Because of the depth and strong currents extra vigilance to make sure the air supply is necessary.

Isabel Beach

The dive site Isabel Beach lies somewhere between the port of the Flying Fish Cove and the base of Extra Divers and has a gently sloping bottom with brown stone coral and reef fish. On this dive site, you'll find different types of Moray eels. Unfortunately, none of our group finds one. The other group, which consists mainly of Japanese divers, does spot a Moray eel and are as lucky to take some pictures of it. Suddenly, we see an octopus diving into a corridor under a rock block. Apparently, the octopus is a little camera shy and tries to trick us. In the rock, there are three passages which in the middle are connected to each other. Every time a diver goes into the direction of the octopus, the animal moves to another passageway. After a 5-minute try, we give up and leave without any successful pictures. Octopus - divers: 1-0. A little further, the dive master gives a sign of a porcelain crab present in the coral. The beautiful creature is seated on a tricky place to shoot, but in the end we succeed to take some pictures of the white porcelain crab with its red dots.

Boat Cave

Dive site Boat Cave is located north-west of Christmas Island. It consists of a two-thirds drop off to 50m depth and subsequently to a sloping bottom. On Boat Cave corals grow obliquely against the steep rock wall in the direction of the light. It's advised to regularly look in the blue because there are many schools of small fish swimming around. Unfortunately, the predators are out on expedition elsewhere. At the end of the drop off it's easy to dive on the sloping bottom. There is also a bay in the island rock wall, in which a little boat fits. Funny!

Smith's Point

The dive site Smith's Point is located between the port of the Flying Fish Cove and the basis of Extra Divers. The gently sloping bottom is mainly covered with vegetation and stone coral with in between many reef fish. It's an easy dive site and very suitable for a second dive because the depth is limited.

Also read our travelogue of scuba diving in Christmas Island Austalia with a lot op photos and useful information about Christmas Island Austalia.

Movies of Christmas Island in Austalia in the Indian Ocean

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