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Scattered far and wide across the vast expanse of ocean roughly
separating Australia and New Zealand from South America lie many hundreds of
islands, islets and coral atolls that collectively are referred to as the
islands of the South Pacific, but are actually island nations in their own
right. Basking in the tropical climate common throughout the countries of
Oceania in the southern hemisphere, the islands of the South Pacific also
share many other physical attributes in line with their geographical
position, but in other aspects they are individual and totally unique with
histories, cultures and characters that set them all quite distinctly apart
from one another. Where once The Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa
and Tonga were once easily accessible by only Australians and New
Zealanders, improved opportunities for international travel have meant
these, and a growing number of other South Pacific islands, are now becoming
popular holiday hot-spots with visitors from all corners of the globe.
The Cook Islands
Comprising of 15 major islands spread over 2.2 sq kms of the South Pacific,
the Cook Islands lie north-east of New Zealand and between French Polynesia
and Fiji. First settled around the 6th century by Polynesians migrating
south-east from neighbouring Tahiti, it wasn't until the 16th century that
the Spanish made the first recorded landing on the Cook Islands, and 1773
that British explorer and navigator Captain James Cook arrived, his name
subsequently remaining synonymous with territories that he didn't actually
discover!
Divided into two separate groups, the Northern Cook Islands are
considered to be older than the Southern Cook Islands where Rarotonga lies -
the most heavily populated island of the entire nation and home to both the
capital, Avarua, and an international airport. Despite an apparent
difference in age between the two island groups, their evolutionary story
reads the same - formed over millions of years, the Cook Islands display all
the features typical of atolls, whereby marine organisms known as coral has
colonised the tops of sunken volcanoes that have continued to sink while the
coral multiplies, leaving just the tip of the volcano showing above a lagoon
that is wholly or partially enclosed by this growing coral ring.
Such marine activity only occurs in warm tropical oceans and the
resulting atolls are a magnet for both a huge diversity of under-water flora
and fauna and marine scientists from all over the world, although being
visually breathtaking both above and below the water line means that the
sheer natural beauty of the Cook Islands is one of the main reasons why
tourism has become the country's leading industry in terms of continued
economic growth.
Vanuatu
Lying 1750 kms east of northern Australia, the South Pacific island nation
known as the Republic of Vanuatu is an archipelago of some 83 different
islands which collectively amount to just over 12,000 sq kms of dry land.
Most of the islands of Vanuatu have occurred through volcanic activity,
their terrains being predominantly mountainous with several active volcanoes
still in existence both above and below the waters that separate the islands
from one another.
Mount Tabwemasana marks the highest point of Vanuatu at 1879 m on
Espiritu Santo, the country's largest island, but it is Lopevi at 1413 m
that is the most dangerous peak in Vanuatu, its past history of violent
eruptions rendering the island completely uninhabitable. The country's
unique natural heritage has made Vanuatu a recognised terrestrial eco region
where much of the land surface area of the islands is dominated by
rainforest and a number of bird and mammal species occur nowhere else on
earth. Coral reefs and a spectacular diversity of marine fauna and flora
guarantee that offshore environments are every bit as breathtaking as their
onshore counterparts, and when this incredible range of fragile ecosystems
benefit from being protected by the WWF, only the odd cyclone poses a real
threat.
Luganville on Espiritu Santo and Port Vila on Efate are the largest towns
with the highest population concentrations in Vanuatu, although Port Vila is
the country's capital, and having been a historic centre for trade and
inhabited by mostly Melanesians for thousands of years has made this town
the island's cultural and economic hub and a destination where a growing
number of holiday
villas in Vanuatu are to be found to supplement what has become a
thriving tourist industry.
Fiji
Lying east of Vanuatu and west of Tonga in the South Pacific,
the Republic of Fiji is an archipelago of around 322 islands and over 500
islets covering a land area of approximately 18,275 sq kms. Only 106 of the
islands are inhabited with a vast majority of the country's population
residing on the two largest islands, Vanua Levu and, more significantly,
Viti Levu, which is also home to the capital, Suva. Sugar production was
once the mainstay of Fiji's economy but as a South Pacific island with
massive appeal to a growing number of visitors from around the world,
tourism has become the country's most lucrative industry, despite a certain
level of political unrest which has led to Fiji being subject to four
military coups since 1987.
Where archaeological evidence shows that Fiji was first settled around 1000
BC, the cultural heritage of the country is as fascinating as it is diverse,
where a colourful combination of Melanesian, Polynesian, Micronesian, Indian
and European residents all influence daily life in any town or village with
a unique blend of customs and traditions, proving that the real appeal of
Fiji lies as much in its people as its outstanding natural beauty. Boasting
rugged volcanic landscapes swathed in lush tropical rainforest, and
surrounded by coral reefs immersed in the impossibly blue waters of the
South Pacific, the islands of Fiji are quite simply breathtaking to behold,
providing a location in which divers and naturalists can enjoy nature at its
best in a range of spectacular terrestrial and marine environments, and
anyone seeking to relax can do so in a location of paradise proportions.
Samoa
Located in the Polynesian region of the South Pacific, Samoa covers an area
of land measuring almost 3000 sq kms and consists of two large islands and
eight small islets, all of which are volcanic in origin, carpeted in rain
forest and washed by the same warm waters of the South Pacific ocean that
are home to a vast number of other similar island nations. Upolu and Savai'i
are the two largest islands of Samoa accounting for around 99% of the
country's total land area, Upolu also providing home for almost three
quarters of the population of Samoa as well as playing host to the capital
city, Apia. First inhabited around 3000 years ago by Polynesians, it wasn't
until the 18th and 19th centuries that explorers arrived from other
continents giving rise to a conflict of interests between Europe and the
USA, an issue settled in 1889 by a treaty that allowed Germany and the USA
to divide the administration of Samoa.
Life for native Samoans is ruled by "Fa'a Samoa", or "the Samoan Way", an
ancient and unspecified set of rules that encompass the traditions, customs,
responsibilities, etiquette and behaviour that have been adhered to for
centuries by young and old alike and have influenced everything from family
life to politics. The residents of Samoa are largely indigenous with only a
very small percentage having Polynesian and European origins, so the
cultural heritage of this South Pacific island nation is quite unique and
something that has proved to be just as great an asset to the country's
thriving tourist industry as its wealth of outstanding natural beauty.
Despite having a mountainous landscape borne out of violent volcanic
activity, the Samoan island of Savai'i is the only one considered to be,
potentially, still 'active', the last major eruption occurring in 1700 and
only a handful of lesser ones in the early 20th century to remind everyone
that Samoa's natural heritage isn't only about peaceful rainforests, coral
reefs and paradise beaches. So, with such an abundance of history and
culture to experience and a huge diversity of environments, flora and fauna
to explore, a fabulous introduction to the South Pacific would be to spend
as much time as possible discovering the treasures of Samoa.
Tonga
With a constitutional monarchy that has survived since the 10th century, the
Kingdom of Tonga is the only South Pacific island nation that has never been
formally governed by a foreign power in a history that stretches back to
when the country was first inhabited around 3000 years ago. Lapita, an
ancient South Pacific culture, then formed the basis of everyday life for
communities on any island in the archipelago, although the cultural heritage
of Tonga has been influenced by many changes throughout this long period of
time, particularly since the first European explorers arrived in the 17th
century and native, resident Samoans now operate on a balanced combination
of time-honoured traditions and customs and modern ethics and attitudes.
Consisting of over 160 islands with a total land area of around 748 sq kms,
Tonga is scattered along an 800 km north-south line in the South Pacific
ocean to the east of Fiji. The largest island, Tongatapu, is also home to
the highest population concentration and the country's capital city,
Nuku'alofa, the social and commercial hub of Tonga and where the Royal
Palace can be found. Dubbed "the Friendly Islands" by Captain Cook on his
arrival in 1774, a warm welcome can be expected by anyone travelling to
Tonga along with a tropical climate to match, making this a South Pacific
destination that has grown in popularity over recent years with visitors
from around the globe.
The unique natural heritage of Tonga is also a major factor in the healthy
expansion of the country's tourist industry, its diversity of environments
providing a wide variety of sporting and recreational activities and the
opportunity to be surrounded by some of the most breathtaking scenic
landscapes in the South Pacific. From watching migrating whales to scuba
diving in pristine coral reefs, exploring caves, climbing volcanoes swathed
in rain-forest or simply relaxing on an idyllic white sand beach, a trip to
Tonga is the perfect way to capture the sheer magic of the South Pacific in
one holiday.
Tahiti
With a land area of just over 1000 sq kms, Tahiti is the largest island in
the Windward group of Society Islands, an archipelago in the South Pacific
ocean that comes under the administraton of French Polynesia. Tahiti is
volcanic in origin, consisting of two distinctly round, mountainous portions
joined by a narrow strip of land, the largest portion being more commonly
known as Tahiti Nui (or Big Tahiti) and providing a home for both the
majority of the island's population and the capital city, Papeete.
A tropical climate and fertile soil has led to the rugged
landscapes of Tahiti being swathed in rain forest, punctuated only by local
dairy farms and plantations of fruit and other cultivated crops used mainly
for export, so the visual splendour of Tahiti has altered little since the
island was first inhabited around 300 AD by Polynesians. It wasn't until
1767 that the first European set foot on Tahiti when Samuel Wallis, an
English sea captain, arrived, followed a year later by French explorer
Louis-Antoine de Bougainville whose published account of his voyage to the
South Pacific described Tahiti as an 'earthly paradise', a fitting
description even in the 21st century.
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