Tour Guide

Me in my new job as a Tour Guide :-)

Mutant

This is almost an "albino" version of a red crab. I've never seen one this orange before. It was even trying to travel in the opposite direction to all the other crabs.

Shadow Play

When the sun comes out from behind the clouds, the crabs "audibly" pick up pace. You can hear their scrabbling against the plastic intensify - like hundreds of finger nails scratching to get out.

Let the migration begin!

The march of the crabs has started. It might be a bit haphazard as the rain stops and starts, but they are definitely on the move.

This photo shows a plastic guard along the side of the road designed to channel crabs towards a crab grid. The crab grid looks just like a cattle grid and is designed to allow the crabs to cross safely under traffic. Some roads simply get closed to avoid the carnage.

weed

A pretty weed.

hybiscus

This apricot coloured hybiscus grows in our front garden.

frangipanis

My new macro lens arrived this week, and I LOVE it!!! I had fun photographing anything interesting. These gorgeous frangipanis are poking into our back yard from the neighbour's garden.

Historical Train

I'm guessing this was one of the last trains to run (1985 I think) before the line was closed. The Union of Christmas Island Workers (UCIW) fought hard to stop the railway being closed, but they lost. At the time, the mine was under the control of the Australian government (Australian Phosphate Corporation). The APC was arguing that phosphate reserves were running out and were making local workers redundant. But then they were bringing in contract workers from the mainland with similar training to do similar work, so there was a lot of conflict.

Historical Tractor

Also on the side of Murray Rd Drumsite.

Historical Boat

Along the side of the road in Drumsite are these old pieces of equipment. I don't know much about there history as there is no plaque to explain.

Birds Eye Chillies

These chillies grow wild and are only 1-2cm long (hence the name). I'm not game to try them though. The Chinese swear they have the best flavour, but apparently they are extremely hot. You only need 2 or 3 in a pot. In comparison, when they use long red chillies, 20 or more is the go.

Japanese Cherries

It took me about half an hour to pick this handfull of cherries. The endemic Christmas Island Pigeon is a fruit eater and don't miss many. I was disappointed though - this time of year they aren't very sweet. I first tasted them on Cocos (Keeling) Islands and they were delicious. There isn't a very large bird population on Cocos because the Malay hunt them for their cooking pots. So you can always find cherries there.

Paddle, paddle, paddle!!!

Traditional Raft

Even the traditional rafts looked great.

Golden Bosun Raft

This raft was getting hit by flour bombs as it came near the shore. Anything goes in this race!

Red Baron Raft

This raft was still being launched when the race started. Mat decided that half his costume was getting in the way. That's his boot flying through the air in my direction.

Bath Raft

This raft used to be a fridge. We all thought Meryl might have gone faster if she had taken the motor out first though.

Car Raft

Territory Week is an annual celebration of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands becoming part of Australia.

Cove Day is held on the public holiday. The raft race has been a favourite event for many years. Local entries are amazingly innovative.

Ross Hannaford

Ross Hannaford - the iconic guitarist from "Daddy Cool" came to the Island with his current band "Reggae Rock". I didn't recognize much of their music, but it had a good beat that was great to dance to.

Human Tower 2

The whole performance was spectacular. I would have loved to get more photos, but my camera's focusing light was standing out too much so I had to stop.

Juggling

Human Tower

The lad holding all of this up is one of Michael's friends - Nick. He is in yr 9.

Fire Battons

These boys were spinning fire battons.

Fire Ropes

The Flying Fruit Flies are a Circus troupe that comes regularly to Christmas Island. They spend several weeks training school students. Volunteers work to put together costumes. At the end, they put on a spectacular performance.

These girls were twirling ropes with fire on the ends.

SOLD!

This piece sold in the Art Exhibition and gained many complements - so I'm feeling pretty happy :-)

Chennel & Denim

In the same sewing class I learned how to make Chennel material. I made a cover for my diary using the material I created. I made this little purse with the left over piece.

I cut up a pair of Michael's old jeans to make a cover for my little pocket note book. The pocket on the front was the jean's coin pocket. The edges took forever to fray.

Both of these went in the Art exhibition, but weren't for sale. You guessed it - too many hours work and too emotionally attached.

Stippled Book Cover

I learned how to do stippling in a sewing class a few months back. Stippling is "free hand" sewing where you produce patterns or pictures. I made this A4 book cover out of the material I created. I decorated it using scrap booking pieces and ideas. It was in the art exhibition, but not for sale. Too many hours to put a price on it.