South Pacific islands

How do you pick an island in a region with thousands of options? Laura Gelder selects six islands with stand-out natural attractions

Upolu

Formed by a huge basaltic shield volcano, samoa’s main island has plenty of naturebased adventures. try the natural waterslides of Papase’ea sliding Rocks (pictured); the turquoise water of the sua Ocean trench, a natural swimming pool surrounded by lush vegetation; or some of the region’s best surf spots. You can also visit Treasure Island author Robert louis stevenson’s 400-acre estate at Vailima.

Rangiroa

this is the largest of the atolls in French Polynesia’s tuamotu group of islands, and the second largest in the world. It’s so huge that it has the Blue lagoon within its lagoon, where you can feed the circling sharks from the beach and wade between motus. Divers are drawn here by avatoru Pass and tiputa Pass, both of which produce currents that are ideal for drift diving or snorkelling and attract large schools of wild dolphins.

New Caledonia

this French territory is better know to its western neighbour australia and presents a fascinating mish-mash of landscapes that vary from turquoise lagoons and palm-fringed beaches to the aptly-named Isle of Pines; the west coast’s wide and grassy savannas covered with paperback trees and roamed by cowboys, to the great south with its outback-like red earth, blue river and green hills.

Aitutaki

the Cook Islands’ second biggest island, aitutaki, claims to have the world’s most beautiful lagoon and was the location for reality tV show, Shipwrecked. Just 45 minutes by air from its main island, Rarotonga, it’s a different world, with uninhabited motus you can visit by boat for snorkelling, fishing and beach barbeques and small villages with postcard-perfect churches built from coral and limestone.

Taveuni

Fiji’s third-largest island is known as its ‘garden Island’ and is home to Fiji’s highest peak - the cloud-shrouded Mount Uluigalau. there’s also a dense jungle home to the elusive kula, or orange dove, huge ferns and wild tropical flowers like the scarlet tagimoucia which is unique to the island. Bouma national Heritage Park makes up more than a third of taveuni and the marine park at Waitabu has some bucket-list dive sites.

Hiva Oa

Part of French Polynesia’s remote Marquesas archipelago, 932 miles northeast of tahiti, this mystical island is home to various archeological sites. Hiva Oa was the home and inspiration for French painter Paul gaugin and its lush, rugged coast is lined with black sand beaches and sharp cliffs diving into the Pacific Ocean. Don’t miss its moss-covered tiki statues (pictured) and unexplained ancient petroglyphs.

THE global impact of COVID-19 on us is colossal. the enormity of the crisis is unlike anything we have ever experienced before and the implications are beyond comprehension for everyone, not just those of us in travel.

the pace that the situation has evolved at has meant a steep learning curve. as an agency, our priority is clients stuck in resort. It’s a scary and stressful time being thousands of miles from home, reading reports and headlines about borders closing and flights being cancelled. It is our job to try to be a calm voice and provide guidance as to the best course of action.

Our emergency hotline is the go-to number for these stranded clients and we endeavour to work beyond what is expected. the time and care we are taking with every client is unprecedented, just like the situation.

For existing bookings some clients are happy to postpone, but many are uneasy about travelling at all and wish to cancel due to the fear of travelling – even into 2021.

the world is now an uncertain place and the travel industry will fundamentally change post-COVID-19. the number of airlines and operators may diminish and I think it will have an adverse impact on customer confidence, especially when it comes to booking holidays far in advance and paying balances three months before departure.

I do foresee a boost to the Uk holiday market, but only time will tell if we return to the same levels of international travel.

Liz Dickinson

Southern Cross Travel, East Sussex