Treasured Islands – Destination Samoa
Pristine beaches, friendly locals and a land that time forgot – welcome to Samoa, the secret treasure of the South Pacific.
It’s not often that you make friends on an international flight.
As we struggle with our carry-on luggage, Gardenia comes to the rescue, scooping up our two children to join her three.
Our holiday begins on that five-hour Polynesian Blue flight from Sydney to Apia, with the kids playing peek-a-boo and cracking each other up with jokes only they can understand.
Gardenia’s beautiful brown eyes are moist with tears as she reveals the reason for her journey back home – her grandmother’s funeral.
Like most Samoans, she will be buried in a family plot in front of their fale, the open-sided thatched hut which they call home.
This is a vital part of fa’a Samoa – the way of life, customs and culture.
They can’t bear to be away from each other, even in death.
Our in-flight friendship serves as a parable for our five days on Samoa’s main island, Upolu, where we learn the true meaning of ‘family’.
Did you know?
Samoans are so family-orientated, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are public holidays.
South Pacific
A recent travel article on Samoa described ‘time standing still’ as the writer waited three hours for his lunch.
In contrast, we find the service incredibly efficient. There’s even a ‘special needs’ queue at the airport for families with young kids.
Driving to our accommodation in the capital, Apia, we pass monolithic churches, facing off across the road in an evangelical duel.
Samoans fell under the spell of the missionaries because the Christian belief system mimicked their own folklore.
Each neat, humble fale is surrounded by a skirt of tropical foliage, interspersed with family headstones.
The city centre is decorated with quaint shops straight from the set of a 1950s movie about small-town America.
This is the most visually appealing capital in the South Pacific, with a wide promenade hugging the crescent-shaped bay, lined with centuries-old colonial buildings.
Labour of love
Famed Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, who spent his last years in Samoa, wrote about its “wide and starry sky”.
As we drive up Mount Vaea towards Le Manumea Resort Hotel, we’re astonished by the galactic graffiti.
The air is wet like a kiss, and thick with the fragrance of dracaena, red ginger, gardenia and frangipani.
The open plan rooms are luxurious and comfortable, but the piece de resistance is the outdoor rain shower. You feel as though you’re bathing in the middle of the rainforest.
We wake to panoramic views of the sun rising over the ocean, before joining the owners for a breakfast of perfectly-poached eggs and delicious coffee.
The resort was a labour of love for Luna Marsters-Paul and her husband Norman, who are great conversationalists.
When our four year old, Taj, tells them about his upcoming Buzz Lightyear party, Luna responds with a tale about her 18 month old grandson whose toys consisted of rocks and brooms while they built the resort.
Vailima
Just five minutes’ drive along the Road of Loving Hearts you’ll find Robert Louis Stevenson’s stunning estate, Vailima, which has been converted into a museum.
The Treasure Island author moved here in 1890, hoping the warmer climate would improve his ‘weak chest’.
He fell in love with the place and its people, before passing away just four years later.
Stevenson’s final wish was to be buried at the top of Mt Vaea; many still make the trek up the steep rainforest path to visit his grave.
While the hike is a bit rough for young kids, a tour through the Queenslander-style mansion is an absolute must.
A fale somewhere
Drive 30 minutes south, through lush banana and taro plantations, past the thunderous Papapapa-tai waterfall, to find beachfront fales.
Each village is like a priceless pearl on a necklace stringing from Saleilua in the south to Lalomanu in the east.
Stay at the family-run Taufua Beach Fales for a piece of paradise: traditional open-sided or enclosed huts, some with showers and toilets, for AUD$45 a night including linen, pillows, breakfast and dinner.
They’re built on the sand, so it’s only ten paces to the aquamarine waters where we swim for hours amongst the tropical fish and green sea turtles.
Food doesn’t get any fresher than this, as we lunch on oka, fresh reef fish cooked in coconut cream, for a couple of bucks.
Boy, the hunter
The east coast is dotted with surf and dive spots, but we take the inland road through mountainous terrain and thick rainforest.
The villagers live much as they did centuries ago: a naked toddler chases a pig around the yard of one fale; next door, an elderly man painstakingly cuts grass with a rusty machete.
After half an hour, we reach the north-east coast and the pristine Piula Cave Pool, separated from the ocean by a wall of black, volcanic rock.
This is an ideal place for a family picnic.
We dive into the cool, freshwater springs, to be surrounded by large, playful fish.
“I want to eat it!” Taj screams, pointing at one. “I will eat all the fish,” he continues, to the amusement of the food-loving Samoans.
From here, it’s a half-hour drive back to Apia and its thriving market scene.
To market, to market
Unlike many Pacific capitals, Apia is safe to wander around any time of the day or night.
The multi-coloured buses, with names like Road Runner, blasting loud music, can be disconcerting, until you see the smiling Samoan faces peering from the windows.
Take a leisurely Sunday drive along the Beach Road, past brilliant flame trees and hibiscus, to the Flea and Food Markets.
The former features cheap, good quality children’s clothes, hats, craft and jewellery.
Best of all, there’s no hassling.
At the adjacent Food Market you can buy everything from pumpkins, mango, chillies and bananas to palusami – young taro leaves baked in coconut cream.
Aggie Grey’s
There are two types of holiday you can have in Samoa.
One involves the historical, cultural and geographical wonders of this special place.
The other is your classic resort holiday, where you don’t even have to leave the property to have a good time.
For the latter, you can’t beat Aggie Grey’s – a destination in its own right.
The iconic hotel in the centre of Apia has been joined by a new property near the airport, Aggie Grey’s Lagoon, Beach Resort & Spa.
We drive through hectares of sprawling, tropical gardens to find our interconnecting deluxe ocean view rooms, garlanded with flowers.
The smell is intoxicating; you are relaxed from the moment you arrive.
Banana lounges line the long, white sandy beach, some so private you feel like a castaway.
The pool area is perfect for families: a waterfall, volleyball net and bar at the adults’ end, with a separate babies’ and toddlers’ wading area.
The service is quick and efficient, belying the phrase ‘Pacific time’.
Food at the cafes and restaurants is fresh and delicious, with plenty of veges, sushi and sashimi to keep mum happy and loads of chips for the kids.
Hubby is still raving about Vailima, the cheap, local beer.
At Aggie’s, you can be as active or sedentary as you wish.
The Aqua Centre caters for diving, kite surfing, snorkelling and deep sea fishing.
We opt for the five minute powerboat ride off-shore to Aggie’s Reef for a snorkelling adventure past the drop-off.
Hubby and I take turns exploring the underwater garden of coral and colourful fish, while the kids splash around the boat in life vests and noodles.
Sam, our guide, kindly snaps off a ‘bouquet’ of coral as a gift: generous but no-so eco-friendly!
Kiddy capers
The Dolphins Kids Club is so good, hubby want to stay there to play all the cool driving games and watch the latest release DVDs.
The itinerary includes Samoan cooking lessons, fish feeding, rainforest walks and the ubiquitous hair braiding.
Taj and Grace don’t want to say goodbye to their new-found friends, later rumbling with them in the toddler pool.
Meanwhile, we sneak off to the luxurious Manaia Spa for a couples’ massage in an open-air mahogany hut, deep in the rainforest.
FiaFia
If you only have time for one night out in Samoa, make sure it’s the world famous FiaFia night at Aggie Grey’s Hotel & Bungalows in the city centre.
Voluptuous Samoan dancers move sensuously around the stage, backed by buff warrior-types lathered in coconut oil.
The MC is hilarious, displaying a typically self-deprecating Samoan sense of humour.
The kids watch enthralled as one of Aggie Grey’s daughters performs an elegant and graceful dance.
She’s pure South Pacific belle, her voice dripping with honey and irony as she calls the female dancers “all virgins. Some have 5, 7 kids, but they’re all virgins!”
The crowd moves outside for the dramatic fire-dancing, as performers scale five levels of balconies around the pool deck while juggling blazing torches.
The night finishes with a traditional Samoan buffet, a decadent display of roast pork (cooked underground in an umu), seafood, salads, sea urchin and dozens of desserts.
Terrific value.
It’s time
Our last night is spent in the Byron Bay-style Zodiac café, near Vailima.
A four-piece band pumps out laid-back blues and soul tunes while we sip gin and tonics and the kids dance in the flower bedecked garden.
As we stand up to leave, the band suddenly stops. “Before the kids go, I want to play a song for them,” the drummer announces.
The entire crowd proceeds to sing Incy Wincy Spider, actions and all, to our great amusement.
Once again, the Samoan people have captured our hearts.
Go there, before it’s too late.
Words: Tracey Spicer
FACT FILE
Where to go
Samoa, formerly Western Samoa, is a 10 island archipelago 5632 kilometres north-east of Australia. The capital, Apia, is on the second largest island, Upolu.
When to go
The dry season runs from May to September, although it was extremely pleasant when we travelled in November.
Getting there
The family-friendly budget airline, Polynesian Blue, flies direct from Sydney and Brisbane to Apia, the capital of Samoa.
Visas
Australians do not need a visa to visit Samoa.
Money
At the time of writing one Australian dollar bought 2 Samoan tala.
Where to stay
Le Manumea Hotel
+685 27755
Approx AUD$130 a night, including breakfast
Taufua Beach Fales
+685 41051
From AUD$45 to AUD$110 a night, including breakfast and dinner
Aggie Grey’s Lagoon, Beach Resort & Spa
140 deluxe rooms, most with ocean views
+685 45611
Approx AUD$300 per room per night, including breakfast
Getting around
Discovery Rentals
+685 29230
What to do
Robert Louis Stevenson Museum
+685 20798
Adults 15 tala; children 5 tala
Papapapa-tai waterfall
Lalomanu beach
Piula Cave Pool
5 tala per person
Flea Market
Food Market
FiaFia at Aggie Grey’s Hotel & Bungalows
+685 22880
More information
Best Bit: The beautiful, welcoming, funny and charming Samoan people
Worst Bit: The thought that, one day, this paradise might be tainted by tourism
Top Tip: Take the kids into ankle-deep water at Palolo Deep Marine Reserve, near the marina in Apia, where tropical fish dart and weave around your feet.
Break out boxes:
Fales
Fales are traditional Samoan homes or meeting places. Oval, round or square in shape, they have no walls to maximize the cool breezes inside (although this also allows easy entry to pigs, chickens, dogs – and neighbours!). Palm leaf blinds can be lowered to keep out the rain. The roof is thatched with coconut fronds, while the wooden floor is covered with woven pandanus mats. There are tourist fales on beaches all around Samoa, from as little as AUD$50 per family per night. They are the original eco accommodation.
Tusitala
To this day, Samoans revere Robert Louis Stevenson, because of his support for the local people in their battles with the colonialists. He adopted the native name Tusitala – Samoan for ‘story writer’.
Bloody Mary
Aggie Grey was a part-Samoan woman who married a Danish sailor, later ostracised by his family. In 1942, American soldiers arrived in Apia carrying ‘unimaginable wealth’. Aggie borrowed money to open a hamburger joint which became a boarding house then a hotel, frequented by celebrities who were filming or staying in the region. The 1950s movie South Pacific stars a character called Bloody Mary, based on Aggie Grey.
