Bora Bora is unique among the Leeward Islands in French Polynesia; a tiny paradise – barely 30km2 – benefiting from a healthy year-round climate. Its topography is unusual; at the centre of the island lies an extinct volcano, which rises above the lush forests and dazzling seawater, overlooking the lagoon and barrier reef which surround the island.

Today, the island has barely 9,000 inhabitants, many of whom make their homes in the city of Vaitape, the island’s only settlement o...