Over the weekend, the Science Channel series An Idiot Abroad returned, and this time around Ricky Gervais' sidekick Karl Pilkington is crossing dream trips off a bucket list. The only problem is—it's not his list.

Once again, Ricky and his pal Stephen Merchant are sending Karl off to exotic locales around the world, where he must check items off a list of "100 Things To Do Before You Die" - or what Karl calls "death stuff," and once again he's complaining his way through each journey.

In the premiere episode Karl is sent out to spend a night alone on a deserted island, but first stops off in New Zealand for a quick bungee jump. Of course, he couldn't go through with it so instead Ricky sent him to the island of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, where bungee jumping originated. ]]> cmb 2012-01-23T15:35:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/3/5/63326/40333

We've been pretty keen on a trip to the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu ever since we heard the people there are the happiest in the world. But apart from walking around and smiling a lot, we weren't really sure what there was to do there--until now.

A Sydney Morning Herald review this week has got us captivated by Vanuatu, because it is home to the world's most accessible volcano. By which we mean, you can basically sit on the edge of the caldera and watch a few explosions of lava, performing like clockwork every evening.

The tourist-friendly volcano is called Mount Yasur, which means "old man," and it is located on Tanna Island, a 45-minute flight from the capital of Port Vila. Don't feel you have to hurry--Mount Yasur has been continually erupting since 1774, and there's no reason to imagine it's suddenly going to stop now.

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· Fiery Beauty As Old Man Rumbles [SMH]
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· Volcano Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: phnk]]]> amandak 2008-03-05T09:20:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/8/1/155920/2414

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near Vanuatu in the South Pacific this afternoon shortly after 1 PM EDT according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was 1,240 miles northeast of Brisbane, which sounds like somewhere near where Oceanic flight 815 fictionally went down.

In any event, it is too early for damage or travel impact reports, however the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii or other islands.

Vanuatu is an archipelago of 83 islands with intact tribal communities, resorts, beaches and volcanoes. It is also becoming a hot honeymoon travel spot, especially in the summer bargain season.

Where is Vanuatu on a map? We put it on the islands travel map for you.

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·Vanuatu Resorts [HotelChatter]

[Photo: PhillipC] ]]> markj 2007-08-01T16:01:03-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/12/8/42554/9733
Remember the kids' song: "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands?" Well, the cheerful people of the South Pacific island of Vanuatu have been clapping themselves silly since it was announced earlier in the year that they were number one on the New Economics Foundation list of happy countries. That version of the happy list (there are rivals!) uses a combination of general well-being and environmental conditions to reach its results.

83 islands make up Vanuatu, and if you want to explore some of them, the Vanuatu Tourism Office has picked up on this whole "we're so happy" thing, and has recently introduced the Happy Country Passport promotion. Freebies galore include guided tours, massages, cocktails and trips to volcanos (and hopefully back), plus lots of discounts for stuff like car rental, meals, kayak hire and shopping.

If the smiling faces on the website are any indication, these Vanuatuans really are a chipper bunch. You can make 'em even happier by spending your holiday dollars there.

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· Vanuatu is World's Happiest Country [999Today]]]> amandak 2006-12-08T09:50:01-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/