The archipelago is about east of Australia and 1500 km, 1800 km and 1200 km from New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji respectively. A few lesser islands are closer, but now provide no convenient island-hopping path by which animal species could pass either to or from major mainlands. Some plants, invertebrates, sea mammals, and many flying species as aquatic birds, parrots, and bats have spread to new locations, either under their own power or due to freak events such as storms, or have been transported by humans. Some plant species have colonized new areas by means of seed carried by ocean currents.