Historic sites
Bay of Islands and Waitangi Treaty Grounds
Paihia, Northland, New Zealand
The Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 between the British Crown and Māori chiefs, with museums, a carved meeti…
Travel tips in Oceania
Natural features
To Sua Ocean Trench, Samoa
Falefa, Atua, Samoa
A deep swimming hole in lush gardens on Upolu's south coast, reached by a long wooden ladder, connected to the sea by lava tubes.
Attractions
Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington
Wellington, New Zealand
New Zealand's national museum, with Māori and Pacific treasures, a marae, a colossal squid, the Gallipoli exhibition with giant figures made by Weta …
Walks and treks
Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Turangi, Waikato, New Zealand
New Zealand's most popular day walk, 19.4 km across a volcanic landscape in Tongariro National Park, a dual UNESCO site, past Red Crater and the turq…
Attractions
Te Puia and Whakarewarewa, Rotorua
Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
A geothermal valley with the Pōhutu Geyser, which erupts up to 30 m, boiling mud pools, and the national Māori carving and weaving schools.
Natural features
Karijini National Park
Western Australia, Australia
A park of deep red gorges cut into the ancient rock of the Pilbara, with waterfalls, cold clear rock pools and fern-lined chasms.
Natural features
Cape Hillsborough wallabies at sunrise
Bucasia, Queensland, Australia
In Cape Hillsborough National Park, north of Mackay, wallabies and kangaroos come down to the beach at dawn to feed on seed pods and mangrove leaves …
Tours and activities
Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles
Timboon, Victoria, Australia
A 243 km coastal road in Victoria built by returned WWI soldiers, past surf beaches, rainforest and koalas, to the limestone stacks of the Twelve Apo…
Natural features
Bora Bora lagoon
Leeward Islands, French Polynesia
An island with the volcanic peak of Mount Otemanu rising above a turquoise lagoon ringed by small islands (motu) with overwater bungalows.
Natural features
Blue Lake, Mount Gambier
Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia
A volcanic crater lake on the edge of Mount Gambier that turns a brilliant cobalt blue from about November to March, then fades to a steely grey for …
Natural features
Yasawa and Mamanuca Islands, Fiji
Ba, Fiji
Chains of volcanic islands west of Viti Levu, with white beaches, coral reefs and resorts from backpacker to luxury.
Natural features
Rock Islands and Jellyfish Lake, Palau
Koror, Palau
Hundreds of mushroom-shaped limestone islands in a turquoise lagoon, a UNESCO site.
Natural features
Moorea
Windward Islands, French Polynesia
A lush island 30 minutes by ferry from Tahiti, with jagged peaks, Cook's Bay and Ōpūnohu Bay, and the Belvedere lookout.
Natural features
Mount Yasur volcano, Vanuatu
Isangel, Tafea, Vanuatu
One of the most accessible active volcanoes in the world, on Tanna Island, where you stand on the crater rim at dusk and watch lava bombs explode.
Natural features
Christmas Island red crab migration
Christmas Island
Each year, around October to December, tens of millions of red crabs march from the forest to the sea to spawn, covering roads and beaches.
Natural features
Isle of Pines, New Caledonia
South Province, New Caledonia
An island of white beaches lined with tall Cook pines, and the natural swimming pool of Oro Bay.
Natural features
Aitutaki lagoon, Cook Islands
Cook Islands
A triangular lagoon of brilliant turquoise with tiny islands such as One Foot Island, where you can get your passport stamped.
Natural features
Cossies Beach, Cocos Keeling Islands
Cocos Keeling Islands
A white-sand beach on uninhabited Direction Island, often named Australia's best beach, with 'the Rip' snorkelling channel.
Natural features
Champagne Beach and the Blue Holes, Espiritu Santo
Port-Olry, Sanma, Vanuatu
A white-sand beach with clear water on Espiritu Santo, and freshwater blue holes for swimming.
Natural features
Savai'i blowholes and lava fields, Samoa
Palauli, Samoa
Samoa's large, traditional island, with the Alofaaga Blowholes where locals throw coconuts into the spray, the lava fields of Saleaula with a church …
Natural features
Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands
Western, Solomon Islands
One of the largest saltwater lagoons in the world, with rainforest islands, villages known for wood carving, and superb diving.
Natural features
Taveuni and the Bouma waterfalls, Fiji
Cakaudrove, Fiji
Fiji's 'Garden Island', with rainforest, the Tavoro waterfalls in Bouma National Heritage Park, and the Rainbow Reef, famous for soft coral diving.
Natural features
National Park of American Samoa
Eastern, American Samoa
A US national park of rainforest, coral reefs and white beaches on Tutuila, Ofu and Ta'ū.
Tours and activities
Grotto dive site, Saipan
Northern Mariana Islands
A collapsed limestone cavern open to the sea, one of the best cave dives in the Pacific.
Buildings
Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Nouméa
South Province, New Caledonia
A centre for Kanak culture designed by Renzo Piano, with tall wooden 'huts' inspired by traditional houses, in gardens by the lagoon.
Tours and activities
Shark diving at Beqa Lagoon, Fiji
Serua, Central, Fiji
One of the world's best shark dives, with bull sharks and tiger sharks in the Shark Reef Marine Reserve.
Natural features
Limu Pools and sea tracks, Niue
Namukulu, Niue
Niue is one of the world's largest raised coral islands, with sea tracks leading to caves, chasms such as Togo and Matapa, and the Limu Pools for sno…
Historic sites
Nan Madol, Pohnpei
Madolenihm, Pohnpei, Micronesia
Ruins of a city built on nearly 100 artificial islets of basalt columns in a lagoon off Pohnpei, from around 1200 AD, a UNESCO site.
Walks and treks
Kokoda Track, Papua New Guinea
Kokoda, Oro, Papua New Guinea
A 96 km trek over the Owen Stanley Range, where Australian and Japanese forces fought in 1942, taking 8 to 10 days through jungle and villages.
Historic sites
Kingston, Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
A Georgian convict settlement on the shore, a UNESCO site, with prison ruins and museums.
Walks and treks
Rarotonga Cross-Island Track, Cook Islands
Cook Islands
A 3 to 4 hour hike across the jungle-covered centre of Rarotonga, past the Needle (Te Rua Manga) to Wigmore's Waterfall.
Tours and activities
Rangiroa
Tuamotu-Gambier, French Polynesia
One of the largest atolls in the world, in the Tuamotus, famous for diving the Tiputa Pass, where dolphins and sharks ride the currents.
Tours and activities
Mount Hagen Show and the Highlands
Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea
Each August, highland tribes gather at the Mount Hagen and Goroka shows (Goroka in September) in elaborate costumes of feathers, paint and shells for…
Natural features
Sigatoka Sand Dunes and the Coral Coast, Fiji
Sigatoka, Nadroga-Navosa, Fiji
Fiji's first national park, huge sand dunes at the mouth of the Sigatoka River, where ancient pottery and burials have been found.
Attractions
Port Vila and Efate
Port-Vila, Shefa, Vanuatu
Vanuatu's capital, with a market, the Mele Cascades waterfalls, and the blue lagoon.
Shopping
Punanga Nui Market, Rarotonga
Cook Islands
Saturday-morning market in Avarua with food stalls, crafts, black pearls, music and dance.
Historic sites
Adamstown, Pitcairn Island
Pitcairn Island
Home of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers, with the Bounty's anchor, the mutineers' graves and about 40 residents.
Historic sites
Papeete and Tahiti
Windward Islands, French Polynesia
Tahiti's capital has a covered market selling fruit, flowers and black pearls, and roulottes (food trucks) in the evening.
Natural features
Funafuti Conservation Area, Tuvalu
Funafuti, Tuvalu
Tiny islets and reefs in the lagoon of Funafuti, with seabirds and turtles, reached by boat.
Tours and activities
Majuro lagoon and wreck diving
Delap-Uliga-Djarrit, Majuro, Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands are known for WWII and nuclear-test wrecks; Majuro, the capital, has lagoon diving; Bikini Atoll's lagoon holds the USS Saratoga…
Natural features
Milky Way lagoon, Palau
Koror, Palau
A shallow lagoon with white limestone mud on the bottom, which visitors smear on their skin.
Natural features
Tumon Bay and Two Lovers Point, Guam
Tamuning, Guam
A cliff above Tumon Bay with views over the Pacific, linked to a Chamorro legend.
Historic sites
Ha'amonga 'a Maui trilithon, Tonga
Kolonga, Tongatapu, Tonga
A stone gateway built in the 13th century from three huge coral limestone slabs, on Tongatapu.
Historic sites
Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, Samoa
Vailima, Tuamasaga, Samoa
The colonial mansion Villa Vailima, where the author of Treasure Island spent his last years, above Apia.
Tours and activities
Tufi fjords and diving, PNG
Oro, Papua New Guinea
Tropical fjords with coral reefs and village guesthouses, great for diving and cultural visits.
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