Paradise is a term used way too often when describing somewhere, first of all quite often those impeccable white beaches are full of sand fleas and the turquoise ocean full of sea lice. But when I arrived in Papua New Guinea I really felt that I had been sent to a paradise, not free of imperfections, but one that enabled me to live more in accord with the natural world.

I lived on the island of New Britain in a rainforest hut just two minutes walk from the beach. The beach was palm lined and white and the water was in fact turquoise, but what was really special are Papua New Guineas reefs. Whereas the Great Barrier Reef has miles destroyed and dead through tourism, this little visited island's reef was bursting as soon as your snorkel pierced the water. Everyday after working in a school I would head out to the reef with the school kids and continuously be amazed by the flying fish, colourful reefs, sharks, turtles and sea snakes.

It was particularly special when we went down to the beach in the evening and swam in the black waters with bioluminescence. This is something that has to be seen before dying. We spent hours in the water just watching and playing and glowing bright green wherever we went.

Moving inland from the beaches the rainforest itself was amazing. I started off going into the rainforest barefoot with some trepidation checking where I was walking, but before long I would tear into the rainforest with the rest of the locals not caring where my feet landed. Whilst in the rainforest you feel a little insignificant, there is so much life going on and you barely contribute at all. We are used to living our lifes, impacting on our surroundings as we go through our daily routine. Here however I felt alien and in the way as I watched armies of ants carrying out their tasks, or plants that seemed to be growing as you watched them.

I will never forget going out to the beach around 5pm and walking along a sand bar that took you out half a mile to sea without getting deep. Here we lay in the water and watched the amazing sunsets painting the sky and reflecting in the sea. Go to Papua New Guinea and be part of the paintings