Yahul Volcano is the world's most accessible active volcano and something that everyone should experience if they can. There's a spectacular explosion every 20 minutes or so which I got to experience first-hand while standing on the lip of the crater. It's exhilarating, and perfect for the dramatic scenes in our feature movie Tanna, which was shot entirely in Vanuatu. The hint of danger, the fantastic sound and the firework-like visuals come together to make this one of the world's greatest locations.

MARL, GERMANY

I grew up in England and I was 14 when I made my first trip abroad on my own to do a student exchange with a German family. I loved the whole experience, especially navigating the language and logistics of travelling across Europe by train. It gave me confidence as an independent traveller and instilled in me the excitement that I've always felt when travelling to new places.

CACTUS BEACH, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

I came to Australia in my 20s to meet my wife's parents and to see whether we wanted to move here. We had a fantastic five-week trip around South Australia and ended up at Cactus Beach on the Nullarbor. We had the entire five-kilometre, pure white sand beach to ourselves. The incredible landscape of the white dunes stretching inland persuaded me that this beautiful country had so much to offer. We got badly sunburned and didn't encounter any great white sharks but I was hooked.

ANTARCTICA

Four Corners commissioned Tony Jones and myself to make a report on the proposed mining treaty for Antarctica in 1989. While in Antarctica, it struck me that here was the planet in its natural state, without human intervention and it was exquisitely beautiful. Our report helped turn the tide against signing the mining convention, which was dropped in favour of a 50-year moratorium on mining. We felt we had helped save Antarctica and this made me realise that our work as current-affairs journalists could really make a difference.

GABARNMUNG CAVE, ARNHEM LAND

Bentley Dean and I were making the film First Footprints, a history of the Aboriginal presence on this continent. After a series of chopper flights, we landed at Gabarnmung on the Arnhem Land Plateau. This spectacular man-made cave is a cathedral for the local Aborigines. Covered with priceless art, dating back a least 30,000 years, this has to be one of the most sacred and beautiful places in Australia. Being here with the traditional owners made us all feel we were somewhere very special. We could sense the incredible connection with such an ancient past, and we knew that this story just had to be told.

Tanna, the first feature film shot entirely in Vanuatu and made in collaboration with the local community, has been nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award.  Made by Australians Martin Butler and Bentley Dean, Tanna is the first Australian film to be nominated in this category. See vanuatutravel.info