Christmas Island National Park

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c:Category:Christmas Island National Park

Giant Trevally on the coast of Christmas Island National Park

Christmas Island National Park is a national park in Christmas Island, an external territory of Australia, and is perhaps best known for its annual red crab migration during the Australian wet season.

Understand

History

There were concerns were expressed in the early 1970s about the effect of phosphate mining on the flora and fauna, in particular the Abbott's booby, which was at the brink of extinction extinction. In 1974 the environmental impact of mining and other commercial activities was examined and an area of the island be set aside for conservation was implemented in a series of measures culminating in the establishment of the Christmas Island National Park on 21 February 1980.

The park initially covered the southwest corner of the island, and was extended in 1986 and 1989 to include most of the rainforest on the island. The area of the park in 2022 makes up 85 km² (33 sq mi) – about 63% of the island.

Get in

See the Christmas Island page on information into getting in the park. From the airport, there are clear signs in all directions telling you how to get to the park.

Do

Photography

Photography in the park might seem like a nice thing to do, particularly something you might want to take home, however, Australian law states that images and film captured in a Commonwealth reserve cannot be used to derive commercial gain unless at least one of the exemptions listed here in section 12.06 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000 with examples of exemptions include capture and use of images and film as allowed by the management plan for the Commonwealth reserve, and requesting and being granted a permit.

Sleep

Camping and backcountry

There are no campgrounds in the park, however, camping is still allowed. To camp, you will need a permit which can be obtained by calling the park office at ☏ +61 8 9164 8700 or by emailing ChristmasIslandNP@awe.gov.au. See the Parks Australia website for more details.