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TRAVELLERWish you were hereAlice Galletly nips to Vanuatu for a mid-winter warm upTHREE DAYS IN Vanuatuis all I need. Just to get alittle colour back and givemy bones a break fromshivering. Yes, I’m awareit is a honeymoon destination and,no, my boyfriend will not be joiningme. Sometimes a girl just needs toget warm.As soon as I step off the planeand feel that blast of tropical air –wrapping around me like a warm,wet towel – I know this was a gooddecision. I’m surer still when I reachmy apartment, which has its ownprivate pool overlooking a lushgreen valley. I could happily spendthe entire day here, reclining on thelounger and ordering fruity cocktailsto the room, but first I’ve got apostcard to send.It’s a short walk down the hill to PortVila – the scruffy, bustling capital ofVanuatu – where I catch a water taxiacross to Hideaway Island.After buying a plastic postcard andscrawling a bad joke on it in pencil, Iwade backwards with flippered-feetinto the water. It’s the first swim inmonths, and a superior one. As theocean floor drops away, white sandbecomes a sun-speckled garden ofpastel corals, sponges and sea fans.Gaudy fish zigzag through the blue:the unwitting stars of my privatesnorkel show.At some point I spot a concretecapsule down below, with 'VanuatuPost' painted in faded blue letters.It’s usually manned by some bravesoul in a scuba suit (an odd job, ifever there was one), but today it’s justme and the fish out there. And I’mglad no one can see me because itturns out I don’t know how to duckdive.I kick and thrash and chokewater through my snorkel, but can’tget more than a few inches deep.Eventually I swim back to shore andask a kid, who did it earlier, for help.“It’s easy” she laughs, clearlydealing with an amateur. “You’ve justgot to kick your legs in the air.”There are 83 islands punctuatingthe warm waters of Vanuatu, and itis common for tourists to do a littlehopping. I meet an Australian couplewho have been gaping down thethroat of a volcano on Tanna, and aFrenchman on his way to dive thewreck of a converted luxury liner offEspiritu Santo. With just a few daysin the country, however, and no goalbeyond relaxation, I’m sticking withthe main island of Efate.The local 'buses' are the most funway to get around. These are reallyrattling shuttle vans which pickpassengers up from bus stops and,PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES70 AA Directions Winter 2013