Touched by Nature: Espiritu Santo is Vanuatu’s largest island, home to the country’s largest city outside the capital Port Vila on Efate Island – even though Luganville’s 10,000 inhabitants seem hardly enough of a crowd to warrant city status. It’s a laid back, back-to-basics type of town, with no high rise, no nightclubs and hardly any bars or restaurants – although those there are do serve the local delicacy, fruit bat (flying fox).
Story by Lee Atkinson

Coconut Treat: I feel like a lamington, all soft and gooey on the inside and covered in grated coconut on the outside.  Lotus Day Spa, tucked away in a lovely garden in a back street in Port Vila, is one of the few stand-alone independent day spas in Vanuatu. It’s also one of the only ones to use natural organic products and specialise in native products.  And in Vanuatu, native means coconut. Story by Lee Atkinson

Vanuatu's hideaways: The dawn is still and silent. I'm sitting in my sarong on a wooden jetty, my toes skimming the shallow water below, waiting for a dugong. The jetty on which I'm perched stretches into the Etlau lagoon on the southern side of Efate, Vanuatu's most populated island. Although it is only 20 minutes outside the capital, Port Vila, there are times – like this moment – when it seems a world away from civilisation. Story by Lee Mylne

Santo's underwater secrets: Vanuatu's largest island, Espiritu Santo (or just “Santo”), an hour's flight from Port Vila, played an important role in World War II as a military base for thousands of US troops. Today, Santo's attractions include scuba diving – most notably at Million Dollar Point and on the wreck of the American troop carrier, SS President Coolidge , which sank in 1942. For those who don't dive, a dip in the clear blue limestone swimming holes provides another way of cooling off. Story by Lee Mylne

Chief Roi Mata's Domain: Chief Roi Mata lived 400 years ago in the Efate village of Mangaas. He was a revered peace-maker, who drew his last breath in the magnificent Fels Cave on Lelepa Island. In 2008, Chief Roi Mata's Domain - featuring gorgeous beaches and the hat-shaped island of Artok, where he is buried - was registered as Vanuatu's first UNESCO World Heritage site. Story by Lee Mylne

Adventure Island: Vanuatu may look laid-back, but this island nation offers quite a few soft adventure experiences - the best of which is the adrenaline pumping chance to abseil down the Mele Cascades waterfall. Then there's horse-riding and off-road buggy rides. Story by Lee Mylne