New research tells us that Geography class has been wrong for a long time. Contrary to what we thought, there are not seven continents -- there are eight!
Australia and New Zealand -- only a 4.62 hour plane-ride away from each other (or 2,587 miles) -- were originally thought to be part of the same continent, Australasia. But it turns out that New Zealand, along with New Caledonia and several other territories and island groups, are actually part of a new continent called Zealandia.
The idea for Zealandia has been around since 1995. Geologists used to think that the countries of Australasia were a group of continental fragments. But now the continental crust of New Zealand and New Caledonia is considered big enough and far enough away to be considered an official continent itself.
Source: "Meet Zealandia: Earth's Latest Continent." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.