If you've ever had THAT picture of a tropical island as your desktop wallpaper (you know the one we're talking about - a white sandy beach, azure blue waters and swaying palm trees) chances are it was taken on one of the many tiny islands scattered across the South Pacific.

Despite these picture perfect scenes making it onto computer screens worldwide, the location of the islands (much closer to the Australian east coast than the Maldives, Mauritius or even Bali) means they receive relatively little tourist traffic from outside of Australasia. Did you know, for example, that Tahiti receives less visitors in a year than Hawaii does in a day?

It's a destination worthy of closer inspection, so let's do exactly that!

The South Pacific offers a wide rage of unique cultural heritage experiences and each destination differs from the other in wonderful ways. From a historical perspective, the South Pacific played an important part in World War II and there are sites both above ground and underwater which continue to attract cultural heritage tourists and divers year after year.

Thanks to their close vicinity to the equator, the islands of the South Pacific stay warm all year round, getting extra toasty in the summer months. More rain tends to fall from December through to March, so if you avoid Summer & school holidays you're almost guaranteed to find a quiet spot for some much-deserved rest & relaxation.

The island of Rangiroa has the only winery in the world growing on a coral atoll. It is called Vin du Tahiti. The vines grow in fields of crushed coral structured and are enriched with natural compost - essentially seaweed and vine canes from pruning. Papaya trees and Tahitian Gardenia protect the environmentally friendly plantations from salty ocean mists. Give it a try!