An escapade in the heart of Melanesia

The new Darwin cruise ship terminal at Fort Hill Wharf is adjacent to the convention centre, only one kilometre from Darwin’s CBD. Modern amenities, hotels and parking are there, plus a mini-market with beautiful local productions – Aboriginal art and crafts, diamonds and opals, and eateries, distinctive of the Top End. Darwin is a home port for the small luxury vessels Coral Princess and Coral Discoverer that explore the Kimberley coast to Broome. Read more about Darwin, Australia

Elcho Island, located in the Arafura Sea off the coast of NE Arnhem Land in Australia’s Northern Territory, is a traditional Aboriginal community with restricted access and total alcohol restrictions. With its typical tropical weather, the best time to visit is from April to October, but magnificent sunsets are a feature all year round. The island is blessed with rugged yet beautiful tropical landscapes of stunning beaches, aqua seas, as well as mangroves that are home to numerous mud crabs and barramundi. Read more about Elcho Island, Australia

Thursday Island, or 'T.I.' as it's usually known, is the name of the island and the town that is the administrative and commercial centre of the Torres Strait Islands. The island group is off the far north Queensland mainland in Torres Strait, just 39 km north of Cape York Peninsula. The lucrative pearling industry founded in 1885 attracted workers from around Asia, particularly South Pacific Islanders, and this has resulted in a fascinating cultural mosaic. Read more about Thursday Island, Australia

Njari Island is in the Solomon Island archipelago, to the east of Papua New Guinea. It is a small uninhabited 400m long teardrop that extends along shallow shoals to adjacent small islands. Three kilometres to the SE is the larger Gizo Island with settlements. Read more about Njari Island, Solomon Islands

Santa Ana Island is a raised coral atoll in the Makira-Ulawa Province of the Solomon Islands, east of Papua New Guinea. Port Mary, situated on a small bay of the same name on the SW of the island, is the main town. Each cruise ship Zodiac that arrives at the beach landing is greeted by a fierce “welcoming committee”, composed of local men, masked and mud-smeared, dressed in warrior costumes and brandishing spears, shields, and machetes. Read more about Santa Ana Island, Solomon Islands

Ureparapara (also known as Parapara; once Bligh Island) is the third largest island in the Banks Group in northern Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific. Three small villages on the island have a combined population of around 440. The caldera rim is often clouded in mist, the sand is black, and the forest lush. Read more about Ureparapara Island, Vanuatu

Luganville is a port on the south coast of Espirito Santo, the largest island in Vanuatu. It belongs to the archipelago of Vanuatu (the New Hebrides before 1980) in the Pacific region of Melanesia. Luganville on the SE coast is Vanuatu's second-largest settlement, and the provincial capital. Read more about Santo (Luganville), Vanuatu

Ambrym is an island in the archipelago of Vanuatu (formerly known as the New Hebrides) in the South Pacific. It remains volcanically active, with two volcanic cones Benbow and Marum that still rumble away, and smaller vents and fractures that ooze steam and lava. The centre of the island is dominated by a massive 1900 year old 12 km diameter desert-like caldera that hosts multiple craters. Read more about Ambrym Island, Vanuatu

Lautoka is situated on the western side of Viti Levu, the largest island in Fiji, and just 20 km north of Nadi. The Fiji archipelago lies just to the western side of the International Date Line. Lautoka is Fiji's second largest city. Read more about Lautoka, Fiji