LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Christmas Island: National Park
built 657 days ago
For those who wish to travel both Cocos Islands and Christmas Island, Island Explorer Holidays and National Jet Systems will offer you the opportunity to save a considerable amount on the normal airfare cost. The flight between the islands is FREE!
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If you love nature, you will just love Christmas Island! 63% of it is now national park containing species of flora & fauna found nowhere else on the planet! Its most noticable local is the Red Crab with over 100 million of these unique red creatures living within the the forest floor.
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Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement was begun by the UK in 1888. Phosphate mining began in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958. Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.
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The Island is considered to have high conservation value due to the number of endemic bird, crab and plant species. Approximately 63% of the Island’s 135 square kilometres is gazetted National Park. Christmas Island’s economy is currently based on phosphate mining and tourism with a focus of its unique natural resources both on land and sea.
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The mining of the phosphate reserves dominates the island's economy, although reserves of the best quality phosphate are running out. Since the opening of the Christmas Island resort in 1993, the island has become a popular destination. The abundance of bird and marine life, and the fact that most of the island and surrounding reefs are now a National Park, is very popular with eco-tourists, birdwatchers and divers.
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Some island roads are closed as the crabs turn the entire island into a creeping crimson carpet. On others, national park rangers erect plastic barriers to herd the crustaceans into special tunnels beneath the roads. Even so, thousands are squashed by passing vehicles, their mashed bodies cannibalised by other crabs as they hurry towards the sea, oblivious to the island's 1,200 inhabitants as they go about their daily business.
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