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.
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)
No disappointment in the catch either. Only a small amount could be taken as
we were leaving the next day.
Absolutely divine taste. Why couldn't we do this earlier, so that we could
have a fish feed every day ?
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.
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).
We could leave our gear on public display without fear of theft.
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."
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 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.
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.
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.
Scary Moment
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
(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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