…the waterline is inhabited by a peaceful mix of Malays, Chinese, and other people, three species of land crabs, lots of birds and some other creatures. Some of the land is used for mining phosphate, but a lot of the surface belongs to a national park.
Some nature impressions:
Big Robber Crab
Blue Crab
One of the estimated 23 million Red Crabs
Our guide Lisa explained that the red crabs do not taste good due to their diet of rotting leaves. This is probably true as otherwise the Chinese would have eaten them all.
Trusty Booby
Roots of an old Banyan Tree in the rain forest
Coastal view
Wetlands
Waterfall and limestone terraces
And the folks here are so proud of the island’s beauties they put them on the numberplate:
Disclaimer: I have not seen any Whale Shark. Yet. But I hope to do so some time in the future. So please if anybody out there meets a really big one, tell them to show up near me!!!
Happy hunting for the whale shark. Perhaps you can feed him a couple of the 23 milion red crabs 😉
Congrats, you understand the basic food chain here! Red Crabs migrate to the sea in December, spawn a few billion eggs, Whale Sharks come and eat the plankton, i.e. the eggs. So I will have to come back to Xmas in December 😉
I’ve had the crab migration on my list of things to see since I was a child…..lucky you for getting there
Well the crab migration 2017 is forecast either for mid-November or Dec 13th-16th… something to do with the onset of the rainy season, moon phases and tides. So I am planning to return to Xmas in December. Either the majority of the crabs migrate in Nov and there will be lots of crab eggs and crab babies in December to feed the Whale Sharks. Or the majority migrates in December, which is a spectacle in itself. Either way will be great. Besides, it’s possible to fly to Cocos (Keeling) from Xmas.. diving there should be very different as it’s a coral atoll.
Nice roots of the Banyan!
Is the first crab really a Coconut crab? How big was it? Did you see it climbing a palm tree or cracking a coconut?
Hi Marion,
thank you! Yes it is a Coconut or Robber crab, as they are called on Xmas. While hiking to a waterfall we encountered 10 – 12 big ones all in one place, presumably hunting for fallen fruit. I did not see them climbing trees there, but they are able to do it – I saw one high on a metal ‘overpass’ or bridge which has been built to help divert the migrating red crabs from the road surface. I’ve been told they do not really crack coconuts, but strip off the outer layer of fibers and then penetrate the ‘eyes’ of the nut.