Beaches covered in deck chairs. Cocktail waiters. Tourists. Cruise ships. That's what I imagined I would arrive to after my two-and-half-hour flight to Vanuatu. What I got was a barely touched island ...

It’s late afternoon when a local fisherman turns up in his runabout. Hurling an enormous anchor overboard, he’s met on the beach by the chef from Aore Island Resort, wiping his hands on his apron.

Crystal-clear water lapped a beach strewn with the palest of pink shells. A beating drum reverberated through the balmy Pacific air, calling her to a magical place fringed by palm trees above coral ...