Christmas Island Caves

Freshwater Cave is popular with cave explorers and lies on the south coast within Christmas Island National Park. It is estimated to be about 700 metres long, featuring interconnected collapse chambers, some of which contain remains of original spongework (limestone rock that has a sponge-like appearance, due to small dissolution pits created by acidic water).

The stamp photograph is by Kirsty Faulkner of Faulkner Photography

Accessible from the mainland, Daniel Roux Cave is a complex of two separate caves, located on the northern coast of Christmas Island just beyond Smith Point. The complex consists of two very different cave systems; the upper being a large multi-chamber non-technical cave that is relatively well decorated with stalagmites, stalactites, shawls, pools and helictites, and the lower cave being a deep subterranean technical cave that is has an entrance that opens into the ocean. Discovered only as late as July 1960 by a local fisherman, the cave complex was not named after its discoverer but in memory of the dead son of a Swiss draftsman who worked on the island for many years.

The stamp photograph is by Yvonne McKenzie of Wondrous World Images.

Further to the west, also on the north coast is Bishops Cave, first recorded in 1969. It is named after speleologist Roy Bishop, who explored and mapped Christmas Island caves in the 1960s. Around 400 metres long, this cave comprises a large collapse dome and lower solutional passage (formed by acidic water seeping into and dissolving rock).

The stamp photograph is by Rauleigh Webb.

The Grotto is on the north-east point of the island. It can be accessed via Golf Course Road, a short drive from Settlement. It’s a small, picturesque cave, around 20 metres in length, with a pool fed by both fresh water and seawater. The beautiful crystal-clear pool is popular with swimmers and tourists.

The stamp photograph is by Yvonne McKenzie of Wondrous World Images.