Surprising Samoa

Beach Fales

Dawn Princess in Apia Bay

I have never really thought about Samoa as a Pacific Island holiday destination, but we were very pleasantly surprised during our time here today. Since we had missed out on being able to snorkel in Bora Bora, we decided that our priority was to find a beach to snorkel today ...... we have carried fins and snorkeling gear all around the world so we were determined that they would get wet today.

An early morning rainbow greets the long boats - the finish line??

Will we finally get wet today?

One internet search later and we had booked a small 4WD - a Tuscon - we decided to independently explore the island with Joanne and Garry. The car was delivered to the gate of the pier and we were soon on our way .... found an ATM for some local currency .. we were headed to the far side of the island and weren’t sure if they would take dollars .... we headed up over the mountain to the beautiful south coast ..... through lovely small traditional unchanged villages ..... each village had a central open air meeting hall .... surrounded by houses which were mostly one large room ... each village is a family group ..... ancestors are highly respected so there is a burial site in front of each home .... some very lavish .... we were interested to see the local rubbish collection .... rubbish was placed on a platform outside each home on the roadside in plastic bags ... we followed a collection truck ... the driver was able to reach out his window and take the bags from the platform ... each one was at the correct height for the driver to reach.

Open air meeting halls

family burial in front of the home

Rubbish collection - Samoan style

Bringing home the coconuts!

Our first stop was at Paradise Cove at the Seabreeze resort ... Chris, the owner is a former Queenslander .. we recognised his Broncos stubbie holder ... he built the beautiful secluded resort in a tranquil bay on the southern lagoon ... and it was totally destroyed by the 2009 tsunami .... the reconstruction has only just been completed ... so new that the toilets were still being painted. We had delicious plunger coffee in the restaurant while the water lapped under the floor. We all agreed that this would be a perfect honeymoon destination.

Secluded Paradise Cove

Recovering from the Tsunami - rebuilding almost complete - Seabreeze Resort

Overwater dining - great coffee

The southern coastline is a photographers dream .... stunning vistas around every corner .... against a coastal backdrop featuring every possible shade of blue .... Arnold was driving and was very accommodating as we asked him to stop and in some cases to reverse the car so we could take photos. 

Beautiful scenery around every corner

Lalomanu Bay is billed as the best swimming and snorkeling beach on the island of Upolu .. so it was our next stop .... it was inside the sheltered lagoon ... on the south eastern side of the island where the damage from the tsunami was worst ... everywhere there was still evidence of destroyed houses ... deserted remains of homes, car wrecks and even clothing and possessions washed up onto the beach ... and stories of family members who had been lost .... heartbreaking.... but they are very resilient and courageous as many are rebuilding homes in the same area because it is their family land and heritage and they don’t want to move.

Tsunami damage

We had been told on the ship and in the guide book that the Samoan beaches are owned by families and villages and that we would have to pay a fee to use the beaches (the Princess Patter quoted a rate of $10-20) .... we asked at Lalomanu beach and the gentlemen just said .... ‘there’s the water, enjoy it’ .... and we definitely took his advice and enjoyed it .... the water was sparkling clear with white sand .... and it was not far out to the coral bottom ..... although it looked like a lot of the coral was destroyed in the tsunami .... I put on the mask and looked under the water ... at first, I didn’t see any fish until Joanne took out some biscuits which we crumbled ... and suddenly a frenzy of small fish were all around us ..... they were a sandy colour and blended perfectly with the sea bed. Further out, we swam over the reef and saw a number of varieties of fish and starfish sheltering under the coral. I love snorkeling so I was very happy to be here in such beautiful conditions.

camouflaged fish - they loved the biscuit crumbs

Along the waterside at Lalomanu Beach are the Taufau beach fales - thatched roof shelters that can be rented for the day to store your gear and provide sun protection ... we weren’t here long enough to rent one but they looked interesting .... it was a great place to swim cause there were showers, toilets, a bar, restaurant and small store .... facilities that are not readily available at the beaches in Samoa. We had taken fruit and muffins for lunch so we enjoyed these before making the return trip to Apia.

Felafa Falls - lush tropical gardens

There is really only one main road across the centre of the island and a road which goes along the coast ... we continued to head around the island back to Apia enjoying the scenery along the way ... as well as the sights of the local villages and schools ...... we arrived back in Apia around 3.00pm. .... topped up the car with petrol ... and decided to have a drink at Aggie Grey’s ....a Samoan hotel landmark near the port .... legend has it that Aggie Grey’s husband left her with debts when he died .. to make money, she set up a cafe near the port and sold hamburgers and coffee to the homesick American GI’s who called at Samoa in WW2.... she is also believed to be the model for the character of ‘Bloody Mary’, although the famous Bloody Mary’s bar is on Bora Bora. Many other ship’s passengers were also enjoying the pool bar and the tropical cocktails on offer .. the boys shared a large Vailima beer ...the local brew ... while we had cocktails .... Joanne enjoyed an Aggies special .... no idea of the ingredients ... cause it is a closely guarded secret recipe, while I had a wonderful concoction of Baileys and banana liqueur .... yummy .... suddenly we noticed that the bar was emptied .... ... and everyone was heading back to the ship .... must be close to all aboard time. We returned the car, and checked out the markets which were set up on the pier until it was time to go back onto the ship.

Original Open Air Samoan parliament building

Aggie Grey's iconic hotel

We showered and met up for the sail away on the back deck ... enjoying a champagne while watching the sun go down and Apia disappear into the distance ... suddenly the ship slowed and did a complete 180 degree turn ... could we be heading back to Apia .... theories abounded until Captain Vinnie came onto the speakers to tell us that we may have noticed that the ship had turned around ... there was a medical emergency and we needed to transfer a patient back to Apia .... as we neared the port, the ship stopped and a pilot boat came out and transferred a medical team to the ship ... after some time .... the patient, partner and medical team transferred back to the pilot boat and we again turned around and headed on our way .... it is always a sad time when we hear about any passenger who has had their plans changed by medical issues ... and we pray that they will make a quick recovery. Already we had heard a ‘code alpha’ announcement in the morning before we left the ship ... that is the crew code for a medical emergency ... a lady had broken her leg, slipping on the wet deck after some early morning rain .... it makes you aware of how quickly everything can change ..... 

A secret recipe

We are now heading south towards Auckland ..... the mood on the ship is changing as passengers begin to pack .... we will be losing a number of friends in Auckland .... I am determined that I will be packing on the afternoon before Sydney, when we have to change staterooms for our trip to Brisbane .... I don’t want to think about it yet .... so am keeping my head firmly planted in the sand!!!

Cheers

Note for future cruisers: Currency exchange: 1 Aussie dollar=2.3 tala. (August 2011)

We rented our car through Blue Pacific Car Rentals ... email to sales@bluepacific.ws ...... they were one of the few rental companies who would deliver to the pier. It is necessary to get a temporary Samoan driver’s licence .... issued by the rental company .... total rental was 202 tala - (rental, full insurance and licence)about 85 aussie dollars .... for 8 hour rental .... they drive on left hand side .... if you don’t want to drive, there were a lot of taxis on the pier with rates which varied from 25 to 40 dollars per person for 4-5 hours.... rate depends on your negotiating skills and also the number of passengers. 

Bora Bora - Pacific Paradise

Bora Bora is called ‘the Pearl of the Pacific’ and as we sailed through the reef which almost completely encircles the island, we could see the lush green main island rising from the sea .... it was easy to see how it came by its nickname. Mt Otemanu is the remains of a volcano, and the islands are formed by the remains of the caldera, so the lagoon is protected from the sea by the smaller outer islands and the reef. The Dawn Princess passed through the narrow inlet, between two small motu, and anchored in the clear amethyst waters of the lagoon.

I woke up very early and excited - this was one of the highlight days of the trip for me - I had been looking forward to it for so long - we had booked a tour to swim with the black tip sharks and stingrays in the lagoon and then have a lobster beach barbecue.

Bora Bora is a tender port so we congregated in Jammers at 7.00 am so that we could get onto the first tender and meet up with our guide. It was a short tender ride across the most spectacular turquoise blue water to the small pier - and we were too early for the tour so we had time to wander around the small village of Vaitape .... buy a couple of souvenirs and postcards .... check out the jewellery stores ....Tahitian black pearls are world famous .... and most of the shops had displays of the gems .... before we arrived back at the tour meeting point at 8.30am. One look at Joanne’s face and I knew that everything was not right - the guide had just told her that a large tidal swell was expected on the low lying island today and so all activities on the lagoon were cancelled for the day - the water was rough and visibility was very poor .... the first time that this has happened for more than five years.

Some quick re-planning, and we jumped onto the local ‘Le Truck’ bus to go down to the public beach at Matira Point - the bus trip is $5US for each trip - pay when you leave the bus. We also thought about going to the Inter Continental Hotel, where, for $5, guests can use the pool and facilities as long as you agree to have a meal there. However, the hotel is on the beachfront and was closed cause they were expecting the wave to cross the road and invade their ground floor restaurant and pool. Later in the day we saw a number of houses which were inundated with water at high tide.

Effects of the tide

We went over to the beach - which has been voted as one of the ten best beaches in the world. We could see the reef barrier around the island in the distance - waves were breaking along the reef in spectacular style and rolling onto the beach - all the locals were out on the lagoon waiting to catch the waves in to the beach - many said that it was the best swell ever .... while we were very disappointed by the weather, they were relishing the chance to surf the waves in all types of floating boards, rafts and outriggers ..... they were having a wonderful time.

Local men were walking along the beach and warning swimmers that the conditions were dangerous - I went for a quick dip on the edge between the rolling wave sets - it was very deceptive because there were stages where there were no waves and the water was flat ... then suddenly a large wave would build out to sea and roll in across the lagoon and up into the beach hut where most onlookers were watching ..... making them run back a their feet got wet ..... I kept an eye on the locals at the outer edge of the lagoon on their boards ... when they turned on their boards towards the shore to catch the waves back to the beach ... that was the signal to get out of the water quickly.

After our swim, we decided to get the bus back to town stopping at the famous bar ‘Bloody Mary’s’, a Bora Bora landmark. At the entrance there is a large board which names many famous people who have visited including Meg Ryan, Burt Bacharach, Danny DeVito and Charleton Heston.  Inside the bar was quite unique - a sand covered floor - just inside the door is a ‘cloakroom’ where you can check in your shoes - all the bar stools are polished chunks of Palm trunks, under a thatched bamboo roof. The drinks are about $7 for a beer and $12 for a cocktail - I has a Blue Lagoon - at least the bar tender didn’t skimp on the alcohol - it was very strong!!

We met up with Anthea, Dennis, Joanne and Garry and decided to sit down for lunch at Bloody Mary’s - I had a great pineapple and chicken burger while Arnold had pepper-crusted Mahi-Mahi sushimi which he said was so fresh and delicious. The two meals and drinks came to about $53US - we figure that we will probably never be back here again - so we may as well see what all the hype was about - that’s what this whole trip is about for us - experiencing the pleasures of traveling and enjoying unique experiences.  

The wash basin in the ladies - pull the wooden ring and water flows down the waterfall

We caught the local bus back to the pier ..... Arnold’s back was sore from bouncing around on the wooden seats in Le Truck so he decided to return to the ship ....I opted to join a circle island tour .... they were available on the pier right beside where the tender docks .... $25 for a two hour tour around the island .... taking in all the local sights. There is only one road around the island - in 1941, American GI’s were stationed here at an ammunition supply depot and while here they built infrastructure for the islanders ... the sealed 32 km. road around the island, the first airport runway in French Polynesia and fresh spring water ..... which has greatly enhanced the lifestyle of the people. There are still a number of reminders of their time on the island with bunkers, cannons, and some WW2 huts scattered about. The islanders are grateful for their help and still use the bunkers as shelter from cyclones and tidal surges.

Our guide was a well respected elder named Mamma Norah .. she was a delight ....with a wonderful happy belly-shaking laugh .....  she was very proud of her Polynesian heritage and had a wonderful understanding of the special nature of the island .... and the importance of keeping the environment just as unspoiled as it is now for future generations ... there is an emphasis on teaching traditional music and dance to retain the culture of the islands ... she was adamant that there will never be any high rise buildings on Bora Bora ... everything must maintain the traditional island style.

WW2 bunker

Condominiums owned by Marlon Brando's widow

Tourism is the only industry of the island and all the islanders work either in the exclusive over-water buree hotels - restaurants - shops - and in the production of local handicrafts for sale. We stopped at a home where large trestle tables were set up in the yard for the production of pareos - the traditional sarong .... large templates cut from leaves were placed on the fabric after dyeing and held down with pieces of coral in the sun for the pattern to be set. It is wonderful to see each one being made by hand rather than being mass produced somewhere like China .... I bought one for about $10 ... love the sea blues and green colours.

Bora Bora has a reputation as a playground for the rich and famous - the major exclusive hotel chains like St Regis and Four Seasons have hotels set over the water where the room rates start at $1000US per night ... international flights land in Tahiti and then a small plane transfer is available to Bora Bora. Luckily, we were able to bring our own hotel our waterfront room .... and spend a day in the beautiful lagoon. Although we weren’t able to swim with the sharks and stingrays .... we had a wonderful day on the beautiful island ... oh well ... just another addition to the bucket list .... return to Bora Bora .... can’t wait.....

Fishing on the back deck

Although we have been on the ship for more than three months, we have not watched any movie on the movies under the stars screen on deck 12. Tonight they were replaying the Rugby final on the big screen so we decided to miss dinner in the dining room and take some pizza up to watch the replay. It was originally telecast live at midnight last night but we were already asleep - ready for our early start this morning. Although we knew the final score, it was a fun atmosphere to be watching the game under the stars as we sailed across the South Pacific ... pinch me again ... for some reason the crowd was made up of mostly Australians ... suddenly the Kiwis who had been so vocal in their ribbing before the game had found other things to do .... 

Football and pizza under the stars

We are now sailing west with two sea days before Apia ... the plan is to try some snorkeling there ... we have carried our masks and flippers all around the world so we hope to get them wet in our last island port ....

Cheers

Note for future cruisers - A tourist office is located to the right of the tender pier and island tours are available from the pier - operators meet the tenders and hold up signs - Circle island tours are about $25 for 2 hours - (morning and afternoon) - 4WD off road trips are also available for about $70. Shuttles operate a service to Matira public beach and Bloody Marys (you get on the bus and pay $5 when you get off - distance doesn’t seem to matter) We were told that usually snorkeling tours are also available from the pier although they weren’t here when we arrived cause the lagoon was closed.

Tahiti please, Captain Vinnie......

I remember watching that 70‘s ad for Imperial Leather soap which featured a couple in an expensive private jet, in the bubble bath... the woman is reading a magazine and she says ‘Tahiti looks nice’, so the man picks up the phone and says to the pilot ‘Tahiti please James’. It all looked so exotic .... and now we are here .... sometimes I just have to pinch myself .....

We woke up early to look out and find that we were already docked in Papeete, the capital of Tahiti ... the pier is located across the road from the commercial centre of the town.  After breakfast we took a leisurely walk off the pier to the tourist information centre.  Groups of Polynesian dancers and musicians lined the pier .. we stopped to watch the Pareo tying fashion parade ... and tasted some local delicacies .... the chef from a local hotel was marketing his recipe book with samples of some of the foods ..... vanilla is an export product of Tahiti, and the tourist centre was set up with taste testing for a variety of other local products, baked goods, local tropical fruits and vanilla coffee. This port is well set up to welcome tourists and we really enjoyed ourselves.

A number of tours were being offered from the tourist centre so we signed up for the half day island tour for $40US - considerably cheaper than the $139 for a comparable Princess offering visiting the same sites ... although maybe not as comfortable as the Princess bus ..... cause we decided on the local transport, and took the aptly named .... ‘LE TRUCK’ ..... an open air bench seated local bus. 

Our guide was Alphonso, a seventeen year old who told us that his mum was also a guide and he worked part time as a guide .....although he had taken the morning off school to earn the money to buy school supplies. He was very knowledgable about the island - although his family was originally Spanish - many generations ago some of the French Polynesian island were settled by the Spanish .... he spoke fluent French, English and Spanish .... a very pleasant well mannered young man. We visited the 100 year old Point Venus lighthouse, where Captain Cook watched the transit of Venus on one of his voyages in 1769. Monuments to Captain Cook and the Mutiny on the Bounty are in the grounds of the lighthouse.

Can't get used to the black sand .... gets very hot too!!

The road follows the spectacular coastline, where the beaches are covered with very fine black volcanic sand to Matavai  Bay ..... a beautiful half moon shaped bay ..... the place where Cook and Captain Bligh landed in Tahiti. It was also the place from which the Bounty left just a few days before the famous mutiny. Further along we left the coast road and travelled inland towards the three waterfalls .... Olphonso proudly showed us his home  as the bus passed by on the way to the waterfalls ... we all waved to his sister sitting on the verandah .... he told us that his family owns all the land around the waterfall, the road and entrance .... it is administered by the family matriarch .... his grandmother ... while many aunts and uncles live in smaller houses around the property. We walked through a lush tropical rainforest area beside a rocky creek bed to the cascading falls.

Our final stop was at the Arahoho Blowhole ... where the pressure of the water builds underground until the water is forced up through the hole in the rocks .... some patience is needed as you can hear the air rushing underground ... then suddenly, the spurt comes through. Across the road is an air vent where a large gush of air is released as the blowhole spurts.

 Alphonso took a few passengers over to stand on the grate over the hole .... including a highly embarrassed lady whose loose shirt was blown over her head .... exposing her underwear completely to the crowd of onlookers.

We had planned to take the ferry across to Moorea for the afternoon - it takes about 30 minutes however the ferry runs at 12.20pm, 2.40pm and 4.00pm. and returns at 3.45pm and 5.00pm. Our morning tour was a little late returning and so we missed the ferry - if we caught the 2.40 pm to Moorea so we would have had to get the 3.45 back and have had about half an hour there. 

Just a tip: I would recommend to other cruisers to Papeete that if you want to also go to Moorea, take the morning ferry and do the afternoon Tahiti island tour if you want to fit in both islands.

When we returned to Papeete, we walked around the commercial centre, visited the Notre Dame Cathedral and the local fresh food markets. The islanders are extremely friendly, smiling gentle people who made us feel very welcome. We heard that the prices in some of the shops were very expensive, but we only bought a couple of postcards, so it didn’t really affect us.

We gathered with our friends on the back of deck 11 for the sailaway party, enjoying a beautiful sunset over Moorea and sharing stories of our day’s adventures ... amid much laughter ..... happy days!

Tomorrow, we are swimming with the sharks and stingrays of Bora Bora .... why does the music from Jaws keep running through my mind?????

Cheers