Christmas Islands official name is Kiritimati and is found in The Republic of Kiribati. However it is know in fly fishing circles as Christmas Island. The capital of the Republic is Tarawa located approx. 2,000 km. to the west. AUD is the official currency yet USD are also accepted. Christmas Island is situated approximately 2 deg. north of the Equator. It is 6,700km from Sydney Australia. Christmas Island is the first inhabited place on earth to see the Sunrise and to experience the New Year. Temperatures are constantly between 24 deg. and 30 deg. Celsius with little seasonal variation. Easterly trade winds are predominant.Most of the Islands food supplies are imported including bottled water. The locals drink the Islands water which they source from ground water supplies however visiting anglers are advised to drink bottled water. Tourism mainly comprising of visiting anglers provides a substantial amount of income for the Island. They do have a few exports being mainly copra,and small aquarium fish exports. Recently surfers have discovered the fantastic surf on offer at certain times of the year.