Kiteboarding. LAT 12° 7’ S LONG 96° 54’ E at the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Imagine an island with warm clear seas, coconut palms, white sands. Then place a kite or two on it.
On speaking to my mate Dennis, we needed to sort out a destination for our unofficial annual plan to go kiteboarding somewhere away from home. Where will it be ?  Cocos Islands, Aitutaki, Tonga, Vietnam, Marshall islands, New Caledonia and the list goes on. On looking at flight prices, Cocos Islands happened to be within our budget and fitted the category of dream destination; so before the plans were barely threshed out, the flights were booked and here we are.

Island water front.
Now it's up to mother nature to  provide some wind to give the boys some fun. (see the BOM site)
We had our reservations about coming "end of season" for kiteboarding expecting only a few days of wind. Adding to our fears. the resident kiteboarding instructor left  3 days after we arrived. No disappointment however. in fact we were pleading for a rest day after nine days of solid work, and finally got one !
 
Fishing was the order of the day. (at  Home Island)
Fishing.
No disappointment in the catch either. Only a small amount could be taken as we were leaving the next day.
Catch.
Absolutely divine taste. Why couldn't we do this earlier, so that we could have a fish feed every day ?
Catch.
Cocos keeling island is an atoll. There is a ring of islands where it is quite shallow in the centre, so much so you could be a kilometre out and walk back should the wind drop !
It is a good idea to plan your trip around the tide times (sheer luck for us). At the beginning of our trip low tide was 0.33m, luckily near midnight. at 6:30am it was high tide at 1.3m. You have a 3 hour period on either side of high tide so we had 6:30 to 9:30 and 16:00 to 19:00. The tide times shifted an hour later each day (thereabouts) and working towards neap tides we could kite all day with low being 0.6m.


Most of our kiteboarding was done on West Island, as that is where our accommodation is. You drive to the southernmost point. There is a yacht club (more like sailboard and kiteboard club) where gear can be stored. We paid a small fee of $30pp to keep the gear there during our stay. (We paid this at visitor centre, who also  provided a great deal of help for car hire, accommodation, fishing and answered all of our numerous questions).

At the beach there is a buoy to anchor kites for launch/landing when no one is there to assist.


This beach is ideally located for the winds in this area.  The winds were blowing from the East and South-East so there was an opportunity to kite along the south facing reef as well, which provided some wave fun and good flat water.  The little island off the southern corner also is a great snorkeling spot at high tide.
We considered hiring a bicycle, but at $20 each or $50 for a scooter - $80 per day for a vehicle won the day. Just as well we jumped on it as we got the last vehicle available. It must be noted, Cocos island is a long way from anywhere, with a small population. Things like shiny new cars are a pipe dream (ours was a rust bucket).  Planning several months ahead is best in order to secure  accommodation, a rare flight special and a vehicle.
hire vehicle.
Our accommodation was at Cocos Cottages. The cottage served our purpose well with two bedrooms, kitchen and shower area. The owner was a descendant of the famous George Clunies-Ross (see Wikipedia) who settled and acted as private royalty on the island (fascinating reading if you do some research).
inside the house.
We could leave our gear on public display without fear of theft.
Kites on beach.
On the other side of the atoll is a place called Direction Island or DI as the locals call it. There is a choice to kiteboard across and catch the ferry back or catch the ferry over and back. The ferry goes across on Thursday and Saturdays for a princely sum of $2.50 one way ! 

We were informed that the police are on the lookout for kiteboarders not within 400m of the shore without safety gear - this would make the excursion quite long see Cocos Island Boating Guide ... "Kite and windsurfers operating more than 400 metres from shore are required to carry safety equipment. To get a sticker about the rules visit, www.transport.wa.gov.au/kitesafe or call 13 11 56."
No-brainer anyway: we were so tired after an intensive four days of kiteboarding that we took the ferry. If a visit to the Cocos Is is repeated we would certainly consider kiting across.  Direction Island is sublime place to spend a day.
Kiteboarding.
Kiteboarding was great, but a little tricky to start off with as the wind was blowing off shore. We headed out past 'the rip' then up towards Prison Island. Also the snorkeling was a good rest exercise; the corals were beautiful and loaded with sea life. Some people went out in the rip at the end of the island to enjoy an fast drift  - a long way out into the sea  if caught in the middle.
Direction island was important to Australia in that it was a telegraph station connecting us back to England. The Germans wanted to blow it up in WW1 and were near successful if it wasn't for the fledgling Australian navy and their successful first engagement. There are a few sites to walk around with information boards providing a fascinating insight to it all.
coconut trees.
 Nature: coral,  turtles, reef sharks, fish in the water. Land crabs, mud crabs, hermit crabs  along with the coconut trees are everywhere on the islands.
Hermit crab.
Other things we enjoyed were special buffet night at the Malay restaurant, a beer or two at the club and a round of hit and giggle golf on the airstrip. (ever been to a golf game where everyone tees off at once ?)
In summary, this place is a gem. This was one of our better kiteboarding trips given the fact that the wind was blowing almost every day. Cocos Island is not a resort, nor upmarket in any form. If you have an activity such as kiteboarding or snorkelling and a have a like minded friend(s) for company then you  are in for a treat.

Food is air freighted from Perth so it is expensive. It is prudent to bring along some of the more pricey items eg. steak, fresh vegetables, cereal. Bring a receipt of purchase so it doesn't get confiscated (fresh veg and fruit). Alcohol surprisingly is the same or cheaper. Restaurants however are not that badly priced, similar to the city.

Scary Moment
The  plane trip is quite long from Melbourne. It involves a hop to Perth, then to Christmas Island and finally Cocos Island.  At Perth we transferred from T4 domestic to T1 international airport. We go to check in and are asked to scan our passports. Imagine how we felt without them ! Anyway after a bit of sweating and asking around (not that many people to ask at this time) we found that only a photo ID was required.
Kite equipment.
Both of us weigh around 86kg. I took two kites (11 and 17) and two boards (140 and 160) and Dennis had  11 + 15 kites along with a 140 and 155 board. We used the 11 / 140 configuration mostly, but the bigger gear did come in handy during the lulls.

Even though the wind velocity would require a smaller kite in Melbourne, the air density is lower in the tropics so it is useful to have a size up on the gear.  I was a bit over powered on the 17 in the lower winds and Dennis had the better choice with the 15. (I can't win - in Zanzibar I took my 15 and wish I had the 17). 

We bought an extra bag between us at a cost of $140 (for the Perth to Cocos leg). Note that the bag weight limits differ between Qantas and Virgin, we had to do a bag repack at Perth to avoid another $140 fee.
Jump.
Footnote.
While we were enjoying our holiday, Dr Jennifer Lavers was making a documentary on water pollution drifting on to Cocos island with a 40 strong Chinese film crew. We didn't know it but there was a major pop star up there with any US pop star and a film actress from 'Ming Dynasty'.A few politicians from WA flew in to greet them. A family we befriended were excited as their young sons were invited to participate and were added as cast members.
Social with neighbours.
(ABC article) You’d be forgiven if you believed the Cocos (Keeling) are pristine, untouched paradise, considering their tropical location and micro community of 600 people. But the reality presents a grim contrast. Over a thousand kilometres away from the nearest city, Australia’s Cocos (Keeling) Islands are “literally drowning in plastic,” says Dr Jennifer Lavers.
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