Are Australia and New Zealand Really Isolated?
There's a common misconception that Australia and New Zealand are isolated, with people often asking if being in Perth or Christchurch is as convenient as being in London, where one could easily travel to Paris, Brussels, or Amsterdam via Eurostar. However, the reality is quite different and quite fascinating.
Flight Dynamics and Realities
It's important to look at the actual flight dynamics before making such comparisons. For example, the shortest international flight from Australia is merely 1.5 hours between Darwin and Dili, East Timor. From the East Coast, Brisbane is just 2 hours away to Noumea, and 4.5 hours to Fiji.
The travel time from Brisbane to a major Asian city like Tokyo is 9 hours, with Singapore being 7.5 hours. Sydney, being slightly closer to Singapore than Brisbane, has the travel time to Singapore similar to a trip from London to New York. Meanwhile, the journey to San Francisco from Sydney takes an astounding 15 hours - almost twice as long as the London to New York flight duration!
Size Matters: The Scope of the Oceans
It is incredibly naive to compare Perth or Christchurch to London in terms of travel convenience. A Hawaiian cruise to Australia takes 19 days, with little else en route except for a few small island stops. The Maldives, which are closer to Africa, take as much as 11 hours by plane from Sydney, 9 hours to Tokyo, and a considerable 20 and 13 hours to San Francisco, respectively.
However, the argument that we should want to leave is highly debatable. Australia brimming with unique beauty and wonder that puts any other destination to shame. The beaches outstrip anything you might find in Honolulu, and the reefs outclass the Maldives. Cities like Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland offer a cosmopolitan experience without the language barriers and cultural complexities of, say, Tokyo.
Understanding the Local Perspective
Understanding the nature of isolation in these countries wouldn't be complete without considering the mindset of the people who live there. When I lived in Southern NH, a spontaneous "tourist run" took me through central NH, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York upstate, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maine - a journey of hundreds of miles. Similarly, in Australia, friends would make a 700 km round trip to have lunch in Stanthorpe outside Brisbane, or take a Brisbane to Cape York and back drive for no particular reason.
In New Zealand, I spoke with locals who, in their 40s, had not ventured more than 20 miles from their homes! This isn't due to a lack of desire but rather a recognition of the vastness and beauty of the land they already have - Australia and New Zealand are filled with every kind of natural wonder you could imagine, from deserts to rainforests and stunning vistas.
Conclusion: Are Australia and New Zealand isolated? Sure, in the sense that you might not travel across the entire continent in a day, but they are far from isolated in terms of access to natural beauty, cultural richness, and cosmopolitan experiences. It's more about appreciating the vastness and the unique character of each place rather than comparing it to more densely populated regions.