20 TRAVEL + INDULGENCE THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN, MAY 4-5, 2019theaustralian.com.au/travel
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01 The poster image for Samoa’smain island of Upolu, To SuaOcean Trench, is every bit asstunning as it appears in photos. A
home-built timber ladder descends precipi-tously through a bush-clad sinkhole (techni-cally a lava tube) to a small wooden swimplatform suspended above a translucent tur-quoise pool. Steep enough to necessitate athree-point hold on descent, it’s not as scaryas it looks. Connected to the sea via an under-water cave, the ocean surge can be stealthyand strong so a rope across the pool provideswelcome security. If you don’t fancy climbingdown to the pool, go for a picnic in the beauti-fully manicured tropical garden with shadytrees and fales (breeze-catching open-sidedshelters) and the magazine cover-worthyviews of the coastline.
02 Samoans are warm and wel-coming, a principle of Fa’aSamoa, or the Samoan way, thatgoverns everyday life based on
respect for family, elders, community, churchand environment. Tatau, or traditional tat-tooing, is still revered and performed usinghandmade tools. A rite of passage into adult-hood, it signifies pride and commands re-spect, so it’s a privilege to witness the painfulprocess at the Cultural Village in Apia, thecapital. Samoans love to entertain and Fiafianights are a fabulous celebration of song anddance by proud, enthusiastic performers. Pre-ceded by a buffet, the show starts with storiestold through swaying hips and sensual hands,slowly building to the raucous clapping, slap-ping and stomping Fa’ataupati dance, andculminating in a whirl of spinning flamesfrom fire performers.
03 The pristine and unpopulatedbeaches in Samoa are owned byvillage residents who chargevisitors a small fee in return for
keeping them tidy, often providing fales andsometimes toilets. Lalomanu, rated by LonelyPlanet as one of the top 10 beaches in theworld, has blindingly white soft sand, crystal-clear water and numerous prettily paintedfales under the palms. Salamumu rewards abumpy drive with crunchy white-coral sandcontrasted with black lava outcrops (fun forjumping off) lapped by aquamarine waves.The grotto at the end of Vavau is cocooned bybush-covered rock outcrops that attract a di-verse array of tropical fish, making for fantas-tic snorkelling or just wallowing in theshallows imagining you are the only personleft on Earth.
04 Driving around Upolu is an ad-venture. You won’t get lost onthe one main ring road, butsmaller unnamed roads that
lead to secluded beaches are often difficult toidentify, with signs faded to oblivion, non-existent or facing into the road. But gettingdirections from locals is part of the fun. Samo-ans now drive on the left side of the road, sothe only challenge is negotiating potholes andavoiding errant dogs, pigs and chooks. The re-ward is a glimpse of everyday life in villageswith lovingly tended gardens resplendentwith yellow-veined crotons and pink cordy-
tired tropical fish found in clear lagoon waterswhen snorkelling straight from beaches,thanks to government and village-based mar-ine reserves. Namua Island is a favoured habi-tat of green turtles and for a small fee you’ll beferried to the island, have use of a fale and cansnorkel over the shallow, protected reef in thecompany of these peaceful creatures. The vil-lage of Savaia manages a giant clam sanctu-ary about 50m from shore where you canfloat above clams up to a metre or more insize, with luscious curvy mantles speckled andspotted in iridescent green. Palolo Deep, nearApia, is a coral-walled hole in the reef teem-ing with fish 100m from shore.
07 Apia is vibrant and colourful.Start at the Cultural Village foran insight into Samoan heritageand demonstrations of tra-
ditional skills such as siapo (tapa making),weaving and carving. Situated opposite is thevisually arresting, architecturally charmingCatholic Cathedral. Pop in to view the ceilingcarved with traditional motifs. Then head tothe fish market for the sheer variety of col-ourful tropical species caught by local fisher-men. Move on to the Flea Market, whereseamstresses sew vibrantly printed fabricsinto clothing and tablecloths. Pick up someshell jewellery, colourful sarongs or inexpen-sive souvenirs. Observe the chaotic conges-tion of the adjacent transport depot wherelocal buses, looking like rainbow-hued juke-boxes on wheels, vie to park or embark, somerequiring a good old-fashioned push frompassengers to get going.
08 Cooling off in the island’s lushinterior at one of the many in-viting waterfalls is popular withlocals and visitors alike. Chan-
nel Samoan warriors of the past at their fav-oured swimming spot, Togitogiga Falls. Float
Trails of the South PacificBRIAR JENSEN
BEST BEDS
10 Secluded in a sheltered bayon Upolu’s southeast coast,Saletoga Sands Resort & Spastrikes the perfect balance of
relaxed comfort, friendly service and cultural integration. Kiwi owners built theresort involving the local community, training apprentices during construction,employing island staff and engaging thevillage chief’s wife as manager. Villas arespacious, garden shower rooms gorgeous and timber decks generous. It’sonly a couple of paces between pool andbeach, and snorkelling from the jetty reveals an array of tropical fish. Local flavours are included in the restaurant menu and two small bars give sports fansand sunset-gazers their own dedicatedspaces. Cars for hire by the day make exploring easy; saletogasands.com ■ samoa.travel
in the shallows at the top of the falls, lie in therushing water for an invigorating natural spaor choose one of several waterholes that caterto peaceful swimmers and youngsters dive-bombing each other. Papapapaitai Falls is thetallest at about 100m. Sopoaga Falls is said tobe the prettiest and best viewed from afar.
09 Beside the Botanic Gardens inApia, the Robert Louis Steven-son Museum provides an in-triguing glimpse into his
colonial life. Stevenson settled in Samoa withwife Fanny in 1889. He was well liked and be-came known as Tusitala, or writer of tales.The house they built, Vailima, reflected theirlove of Samoan culture, and is now a museum.Using old photos as reference, it has been fur-nished with period antiques and memorabilia.Energetic visitors can climb to his grave onMt Vaea; rlsmuseum.org.
lines where you can purchase fresh fruit fromroadside stalls. Be aware Sundays are sacredand some sites are closed.
05 Due to the success of missionar-ies, the majority of Samoans areChristian. Each village has itsown church, from humble to
elaborate, and reflecting the Samoan love ofcolour with cheerfully painted trims and inte-riors. On Sundays the whole village attendsmorning service in their brightest whites andvisitors are welcome. Even if you’re not re-ligious, listening to their joyful, harmonioussinging is uplifting. Siblings look after eachother while parents sing in the choir and theodd dog wanders in. White Sunday, in Octo-ber, is Children’s Day, and young members ofthe congregation are given pride of place andperform plays and songs. Ask at your accom-modation for the closest church to visit andtake a donation for the collection.
06 Damsel, butterfly, angel, trum-pet, parrot and Picasso trigger-fish are just some of thekaleidoscope of outlandishly at-
Lalomanu, rated one of the world’s top 10 beaches, main; Togitogiga Falls, above; White Sunday at church, right; To Sua Ocean Trench, left
On island time
BRIAR JENSEN
THE PERFECT 10 UPOLU, SAMOA
