It's around about now that Kiwis tend to start planning a Pacific Island break.
If you've seen Fiji, been rocked by Niue and now find Tahiti 'Bora Boring' - there's a brand new island in the kingdom of Tonga that might be of interest.
Birthed from an ocean volcano some four years ago - scientists have declared this brand new island is here to stay. At least, for now.
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai is distinguished by its romantic Martian landscape, pristine volcanic beaches and 120 metre summit. All untouched by human influence.
Though at the moment the amenities can only be described as "lacking" it has been receiving extraterrestrial attention from Nasa.
Martian lanscape: The view from Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai's 120m summit. Photo / Supplied, Nasa
Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai burst onto the scene after violent volcanic eruptions in 2014. Initially it had been written off as a flash in the pan, likely to be washed away within months.
Then the island kept growing – forming an isthmus land bridge in 2015 to a neighbouring island.
Most volcanic islands don't last longer than a couple of months. But since its appearance four years ago, it has gained new estimations for longevity and interest from international scientists.
One can only assume hotel developers are already scheming.
"Volcanic islands are some of the simplest landforms to make," said Jim Garvin, chief scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. His team's renewed excitement about Tonga, beyond its appeal as a holiday destination, is the mytery of why the new island has stuck around.
Among other goals his work aims to better understand "erosion rates and processes and to decipher why [the island] has persisted longer than most people expected."
The island is of interest to Nasa for its similarity to landscapes formed elsewhere in our solar system and Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai may provide some invaluable lessons about features of planets such as Mars.
Volcanic Eden: Nasa says the new Tongan island is here to stay. Photo / Supplied, Nasa
Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai is one of only three islands to have emerged – and lasted – over the last 150 years. The only other "surtseyan" island to form in living memory appeared off the coast of Iceland in 1963.
Holiday-makers wishing to visit this pristine volcanic Eden may not have long.
The scientists have two potential scenarios for the future of the island, both don't look good for the prospects of a future beach break:
The first suggests the whole thing could be broken up by wave erosion within the next 7 years.
The second scenario leaves just the hard volcanic cone as a new, if greatly reduced standalone island which might last around 30 years.
Then again Nasa has been wrong about the staying power of hardy Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai before.
