Vanuatu

Vanuatu is an archipelago of 83 islands in the southwestern Pacific where active volcanoes light up the night sky, traditional kastom culture runs deep, and the original bungee jump was invented centuries before any New Zealander thought of attaching elastic cords to a bridge. The Naghol land diving ceremony on Pentecost Island, where men leap from wooden towers with vines tied to their ankles, has been practiced for hundreds of years and is one of the most extraordinary cultural traditions on the planet.

Formerly known as the New Hebrides under joint British-French colonial rule, Vanuatu gained independence in 1980 and has built a unique identity blending Melanesian tradition with the quirks of its dual colonial heritage. Bislama, the national language, is an English-French creole where "helicopter" becomes "mixmaster blong Jesus Christ" and the concept makes perfect sense. With over 100 indigenous languages spoken by roughly 330,000 people, Vanuatu has one of the highest language densities per capita in the world. The country has repeatedly topped the Happy Planet Index, ranking as one of the happiest and most sustainable nations on Earth.

Mount Yasur on Tanna island is one of the world's most accessible active volcanoes - you can stand on the crater rim and watch lava explode into the sky every few minutes. The coral reefs are pristine, the jungles are dense, and the pace of life makes the rest of the world feel like it is in a pointless rush.