:: Christmas

Good morning!  Long time...  sorry for the lack of communication lately.  I'm on Kiritimati or Christmas Island, way out on the fringes of the International Date Line and pretty much smack bang on the Equator. Kiritimati has a colourful past including being a key pacific testing ground for US and British Nuclear testing in the 1950's and '60's.  These days it's pretty quiet here which seems to suit the locals just fine.  It's a very sleepy little island that just happens to have some of the best Saltwater Fly Fishing on the planet.  But if you're into your Fly Fishing you'd already know that.

Half of Kiritimati is made up of a maze of shallow saltwater lagoons that are home to the legendary Bonefish, said to be the worlds premier game fly fish.  The Bonefish are practically invisible against the vivid white sand but somehow our skilled guide Nureau seems to be able to pick them at 50m away while I struggle seeing the toadfish swimming between my feet.  I blame my poor fish vision on being constantly distracted by the stark beauty of the pristine white sand, the vivid blues and greens of the water and the endless blue sky.  The brightness of the place is striking!  You'd last five minutes without a pair of polarised sunglasses, a hat and long sleeves.

There's no waves here, at least not at the moment.  The word on the island is that December to January is the time to come for surfing although it sounds pretty fickle.  I guess the Hawaiian winter swells travel further south and eventually make it here to Christmas so if you're looking for uncrowded waves in the Australian summer this could be your ticket.  You'll have the place to yourself!

Looks like Sydney's going to have some swell for the next couple of days.  Finger crossed there's more SW in the wind than SE which should result in some quality waves.

Catch you back in Sydney soon ∆ Murray

DAILYMurray Fraser