Merrial Beach

Meet the site

Merrial Beach is, in Parks Australia's words, Christmas Island's smallest beach and one of its prettiest: a pocket of white sand framed by rocky outcrops and grotto-like overhangs at The Dales on the west coast. The Dales – a series of steep valleys with streams and waterfalls such as Hugh's Dale – are a Ramsar-listed wetland, and the whole coastline here lies within Christmas Island National Park.

The beach is reached from the land by a rough track with some climbing, graded 3 by Parks, and only at low tide. Diving at Merrial is not part of the operators' published site lists, and there is no dedicated dive description; it is included here because it is a named coastal site that snorkellers visit and that boats can reach on calm west-coast days.

Underwater, expect the typical west-coast pattern: a narrow fringing reef of hard coral from the shallows, dropping to a steep slope and wall within a short distance of the shore. The west coast is regarded as having the clearest water around the island and less diving pressure than anywhere else, so the coral tends to be pristine. Reef fish – butterflyfish, angelfish, surgeonfish, parrotfish and wrasse – are abundant, turtles are common and the open water beyond the reef can bring reef sharks, dolphins and occasional pelagics.

Merrial suits experienced snorkellers and divers joining an exploratory west-coast trip in very calm conditions. Treat the information as indicative: confirm with an operator before planning a dive here. Photographers visiting at low tide come mainly for the scenery of the rocky overhangs and white sand.

What you might see

Hard corals, butterflyfish, angelfish, surgeonfish, parrotfish, wrasse, turtles, reef sharks, spinner dolphins

Location

Christmas Island's smallest beach, at The Dales on the west coast, with rocky overhangs; fringing reef offshore dived or snorkelled from a boat.

Facilities nearby

None – no parking at the beach, toilets or water. 4WD needed to reach the track.