Pacific Islands

The Pacific Islands are divided by the equator, the two halves being the North Pacific (Hawaii and the tiny Micronesian Islands including Guam, Palau and the Marshall Islands), and the South Pacific (including New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Niue, Tonga, Cook Islands and Tahiti) with Kiribati straddling the equator. The North Pacific Islands, being north of the equator, has its summer between May and September whilst the South Pacific Islands has its summer between November and April when temperatures and humidity are higher resulting in more frequent and often heavy rainfall, except of course, for New Zealand, which is as too far south to be effected by intense heat.

There are three types of islands in the Pacific - volcanic islands, coral atolls and limestone islands.

Volcanic islands are the base of all islands and are created as a result of continental drift. Submarine volcanoes are common in the Pacific Plate and even as you read, some of these erupting volcanoes near the surface of the sea create new islands (as with the hot spot south-east of American Samoa and also south-east of the Big island Hawaii). The larger the plutonic activity the larger the new island will be. In many areas there are visible mountain chains of these volcanic peaks. Samoa, Hawaii and New Zealand are stunning examples of this extreme volcanic landscape. Whilst the volcanic peaks are the visible islands, great chasms and massive marine mountains lie beneath the Pacific Ocean - the Mariana Trench in Micronesia is the deepest point in the world at just over 36,000 feet.

Over time, coral reefs and lagoons form around these new volcanic islands like those in the Mamanuca Group in Fiji and the Ha'apai Group in Tonga. Coral forms only between 35 degrees north and 32 degrees south of the Equator and thrives in clear salty waters where the temperature never falls below 18 o C and the depth does not exceed 50 metres.

Eventually the volcanic islands subside back into the sea, eroded over time by sea and wind. In the last stages of this erosion, a deep lagoon (being the crater) with a string of coral atolls (being the crater rim) remains. It is these lagoons - Bora Bora in Tahiti, Aitutaki in the Cook Island - that have become the archetypal South Pacific Island.

In subsequent upheavals, the coral reefs die to form limestone islands which have craggy coastlines, rocky interiors, caves and spectacular cliffs like those found in the Cook Island (Mangaia is believed to be the oldest island in the Pacific) and the Vava'u Group in Tonga.

Aside from the science behind these islands, as tourist destinations they all have a few things in common: Stunning Scenery and warm weather. For most visitors this makes for a romantic retreat although there is so much more to be explored.