South Pacific

In this gallery you can find South Pacific Images from the South Pacific countries.South Pacific refers to an area in the southern Pacific Ocean Strictly taken it is the part of the Pacific Ocean area south of the equator bordered by Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. Australia, or the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania and a number of other islands in the Southern, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the French dependency of New Caledonia to the northeast, and New Zealand to the southeast.The mainland of Australia has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by Indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and by European explorers and merchants starting in the seventeenth century, the eastern half of the mainland was claimed by the British in 1770 and officially settled through penal transportation as the colony of New South Wales on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were successively established over the course of the 19th century.New Zealand is a country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean comprising two large islands the North Island and the South Island and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands.The papulation is builds up from Polynesians, Moriori, Maori, Pakeha - Europeans and Asians.In Maori , New Zealand is also known as Aotearoa, which is usually translated into English as the Land of the Long White Cloud.The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue, which are self-governing, but in free association; Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica. All Photos by Rafael Ben- Ari/Chameleons Eye