Oceania

If you want to know what the edge of the world looks like, this is it.

Oceania is a vast, sun-drenched, sea-swept expanse of raw geography where the crowds disappear and nature unapologetically takes centre stage.

In fact, the locals of the Cook Islands joke that the colour blue was actually invented in the crystal-clear turquoise waters here — and honestly, it feels that way.

In Australia, we look beyond the iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House to find something far harder to define. Dive the kaleidoscopic depths of the Great Barrier Reef, sail the tropical Whitsundays to step barefoot onto the pristine sands of Whitehaven Beach, or meet the monolithic Three Sisters in the hazy Blue Mountains. But the true heartbeat of the continent lies in its red centre. Uluru is Australia's most revered natural icon and a site of profound spiritual significance for its traditional Aboriginal owners, the Anangu people.

Cross the Tasman Sea and you hit New Zealand, a remote, untamed luxury destination where sheep famously outnumber the humans.

Witness the wild, salty collision of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean at Cape Reinga, or marvel at the stacked pancake rocks of Punakaiki. Immerse yourself in the rich, living heritage of Māori culture in Rotorua — a land of spouting geysers and bubbling mud pools — before trekking the dramatic volcanic ridges of the Tongariro Crossing, known to film lovers the world over as the rugged heart of Mordor.

Then we drift into the deep Pacific where the lush jungle interiors of Rarotonga give way to the impossibly blue lagoons of Fiji. These waters have made waves on the big screen, and you'll feel every bit like Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins in The Blue Lagoon — except this time, it's real.