Oceania

Introduction

T dam

© Breezy13

Oceania is the region often used to group Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Although half of it is politically part of Indonesia (thus Asia), sometimes the island of New Guinea is considered to be located within Oceania as a whole. Here, only Papua New Guinea is mentioned, West Papua, the Indonesia half, is not.

Geography

Oceania is a region of numerous islands, mostly in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The boundaries of Oceania can be defined in several different ways, but most recognize parts of Australasia such Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, and all or part of the Malay Archipelago as part of the region.

Subregions

Ethnologically, the islands in Oceania can be divided into three subregions; Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. The latter covers much of the central and southern parts of the Pacific Ocean, Micronesia the northern part and Melanesia the western part with most of the larger islands.

Countries and Territories

For overseas territories, check the Overseas Territories Australia and Overseas Territories New Zealand articles.

Sights and Activities

Landmarks

See also: Famous Landmarks

great barrier reef

© em78

• Sydney Opera House
• Great Ocean Road - between Melbourne and Adelaide
• Milford and Doubtful Sound - New Zealand
• Mount Cook - New Zealand
• Tongariro National Park - New Zealand
• Uluru (Ayers Rock) - in central Australia
• Tropical North Queensland / Cape Tribulation
• Fraser Island - one of the biggest sand islands in the world
• Great Barrier Reef - the largest coral reef in the world
• Kakadu National Park - located in the north of Australia, with both cultural and natural importance
• The Kimberleys - a landscape of stark beauty in the northwest of Australia.
• Moais on Easter Island
• Tuvalu - the first nation to be flooded when the sea keeps rising.
• Bora Bora - cliché version of tropical paradise
• Nan Madol - this is the stunning sunken stone city off the eastern shore of the Island of Pohnpei, one of the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia
• Puncak Jaya (4,884 metres) in West Papua, Indonesia is the highest peak in the Australian continent, although politically Indonesia isn't considered part of Oceania.

Major Cities

• Adelaide
• Auckland
• Brisbane
• Cairns
• Canberra
• Christchurch
• Darwin
• Hobart
• Melbourne
• Perth
• Sydney
• Wellington

Getting There and Around

Oceania is the only continent which is almost exclusively reached by plane, as overland routes are completely absent and there are few ferries. Probably a cruise ship, cargo ship or yacht is your only option by sea. Australia has most flights, especially to Sydney and Melbourne, and a couple of other main cities. There are direct flights to a few cities in Africa and South America, more so in North America and numerous airlines serve Australia, and New Zealand to a lesser extent, from Asian cities. The Pacific Islands have few direct connections from other continents, although Fiji is a good hub reached from the USA as well as several Asian countries. Easter Island and French Polynesia have flights to Santiago de Chile.
For travelling between the islands, apart from flying another option is taking a ferry.

Best Time to Visit

The best time for a visit really depends on where you are going, as there are differences between Australia and the Pacific Islands for example. In general, the southern half of Australia and all of New Zealand is best visited during the summer months from November to March, as it is warm and mostly dry. Note that inland temperatures in January and February can rise well above 40 °C. Not a huge problem, but not a good time for long walks or other physical activities. The northern half of Australia has a wet season during those same months, so it's better to visit from April/May to October, when the weather is drier and cooler, which makes it much more pleasant.
April-November is also the best time to visit most of the Pacific Islands. The winter trade wind blows fairly steadily during these months, bringing generally fine tropical weather throughout the area. Rarotonga in the Cook Islands and Tongatapu in Tonga are further from the equator and see cooler temperatures. Breezy wintertime nights can feel chilly on those islands.