The sand at Champagne Beach is so white and fine that it squeaks a little when you walk on it. The colour comes from tiny pieces of coral and shell ground smooth by the waves over thousands of years. The water in the bay is several shades of blue at once — pale aqua near the shore where it is shallow, then deeper turquoise further out.
Just offshore, coral reefs provide a home for hundreds of types of fish. Snorkellers can float face-down and watch parrotfish, angelfish and sea turtles moving beneath them. The reef is so shallow in places that the coral almost touches the surface, which is why the water looks almost see-through.
Tall coconut palms lean out over the sand, giving patches of shade. Local families often sell fresh coconuts nearby — the juice inside a green coconut is cool, sweet and very refreshing after a swim. People in Vanuatu have grown and used coconuts for centuries in cooking, building roofs and making oil.
The little bubbles that give the beach its name come from volcanic gases seeping gently up through cracks in the seafloor. They are harmless and tickle your skin if you sit in shallow water near the source — a fun and very unusual sensation.