Eye On

We are going to travel to the other side of the world to visit some countries in the tropical, southern belt of the world's biggest ocean. Do you know the name of this ocean?

Roll your cursor over the map if you need some help. And find out the names of some of the countries in this vast body of water. Click on the map for a more detailed version.

But I don't see many countries in the Ocean …?

That's because most of the countries in the South Pacific are very small compared to others like neighbouring Australia. Many of them are made up of hundreds of islands. In fact with 20,000 islands in all, four-fifths of the world's islands are found here. Click on the map above to see part of the South Pacific on a larger scale.


	©Simon Scoones/Worldaware

These children in Western Samoa can walk to school. But it can take days to sail between one South Pacific island to another.

for a table of distances in kilometres between some South Pacific countries. You can print out the table or save it in a Word file.
Afterwards, have a go at Jack's questions:

1. How many kilometres would you travel between Fiji and Vanuatu?

2. A student from Western Samoa has just started a college course in American Samoa. She has to take a boat there and back every day. How many kilometres does she travel each day?

3. A fisherman from Western Samoa needs to sail to Tonga to pick up a new fishing net. Then he plans to sail to Fiji to see the Western Samoan rugby team take on their big rivals, the Fijians. How far would he have travelled to get there and return home again?

4. Which two countries are furthest apart?

to see if you were right.

When you travel between some islands, the day can change as well! For example, if you fly from Western Samoa to Fiji on a Tuesday, it will be Wednesday when you arrive in Fiji, even though the flight is only a couple of hours' long.

Why? Is it because Fijians don't like Tuesdays?

No! This is because you will cross the International Date Line. Click on the map to find out more.

Look at the table to see how the days and clocks change from one South Pacific country to another on either side of the International Date Line. Can you work out the time and the date in Tonga and Western Samoa if it was 2.30 on Wednesday 10th July in Fiji?

for the answer

Time and date in Fiji	Time and date in Tonga	Time and date in Western Samoa
Friday 22nd February04:09	Friday 22nd February 05:09	Thursday 21st February 05:09

For people who like to party, the South Pacific is a very special place to celebrate New Year. They can start in Western Samoa, one of the first places to welcome in the New Year. Then they can take a two hour flight to Fiji, one of the last countries to welcome in the New Year. This way, they can celebrate New Year's Eve for two days instead of one!


	©Simon Scoones/Worldaware

Why don't your make your own poster to advertise these special party holidays? You could win a prize too! Go to the Competitions page to find out more.