Named after evolutionist Charles Darwin, this tropical city on the top end of Australia is a former frontier town with a rough-and-tumble past. Darwin's growth was achieved back in 1871 with the discovery of gold at Pine Creek, and today a number of historic buildings from that era remain. Darwin is also the center of the aboriginal community, the world's oldest culture. From here, you can visit Kakadu National Park, a World Heritage Site renowned not only for its Australian wildlife but Aboriginal rock art.

New Guinea is one of Asia's most spectacular regions for tourism. A living museum of natural history, untouched rain forests, white-sand beaches, snow-capped mountains straddling the equator, jewel-like lakes and moss-carpeted forests shelter some of the world's most astonishing wildlife. In the highlands valley of Baliem, Stone-Age tribes sport boar tusk nose rings, necklaces of harvested spider webs, and reed skirts for women. The custom of smearing their bodies with red or white clay for warmth has given rise to the nickname "mud people." In Jayapura, a picture-postcard harbor with a backdrop of eternally green hills greets travelers who visit this Indonesian part of New Guinea. Indeed, the only access is by sea, and aside from a few roads around the town, the only means of travel to the interior is on foot or by light aircraft. Streets bustle with an interesting mix of tribesmen, vendors, Minang merchants, Bugis fishermen or sailors from Makassar.

...Lautoka has countless natural treasures and unmolested habitats that are simply glorious... Sugar is the official crop of Lautoka, and September is the best time of the year to visit, as the entire town celebrates the enchanting Sugar Festival...

After years of wandering the south seas, Robert Louis Stevenson chose this paradise as his home. If you like, visit his house and Aggie Grey's hotel. After touring the island, you'll come to understand why the Reverend John Williams, the first European to visit Apia, dubbed Samoa the "Friendly Islands."

Less visited than the other Society Islands, Huahine maintains more of the traditional pace of life. There are ancient fares (temples) to explore, vanilla plantations to view or drives into the hinterlands in 4-wheel-drive-vans. The coral reefs offshore are excellent for snorkeling.

The largest of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, Tahiti held a magical attraction for artist Paul Gauguin and writer Robert Louis Stevenson. To understand why, simply listen to the winds whistling through casuarina trees on a secluded black-sand beach, or stroll through beautiful botanical gardens and marvel at island flora.