John Nicholls sits in his ‘sunset chair’, watching the end-of-day colour show play out across the ocean in front of his place. “I’d never even built a house before, now I’m building a resort,” he tells me, downing the last of his beer. “And on this island you can’t just ring a plumber or a builder; this is like a ship, and I’m the ship’s captain. When I need to get something done, I google how to do it.”

Travel the planet over and it’s possible you won’t find a resort quite like this one. Rockwater Resort is more Island of Dr Moreau than typical island oasis. Its construction was a three-year labour of love for its owners that left them literally six metres underground. Few travellers seem to know it’s open, however, even though it’s now 15 months old and one of TripAdvisor’s top-rated properties in Vanuatu.