There used to be a flight directly from Tutuila to Savaii but it stopped running several years ago. These days you have to fly to Upolu (the main island in Western Samoa) and take a ferry over to Savaii. We landed at 9:30am and rushed to try and catch the 10am ferry. Our taxi driver did everything he could (including running into the ferry terminal to try and get us tickets) but unfortunately we just missed it. We weren't too upset though because it meant we got to go back to Aggie Grey's for a drink by the pool.
The ferry ride over was a little bumpy but it was over fairly quickly. When we got to Savaii we rented a car and headed East. Our first night we stayed at Siufaga on the East side of the island. We had the most incredible lobster dinner at the hotel restaurant. I would strongly recommend stopping here!
On my birthday we headed North to Manase. On the way we stopped at a reserve and went swimming with turtles.
We also went on a short walk through a lava tube. Apparently no one has ever been to the back of the cave but our guide couldn't really explain why.
That night stayed at Jane's Beach Fales. Jane's had a great little beach bar and we had a really yummy dinner prepared at the hotel. After dinner we went to a hotel down the beach for desert.
On our third day we drove around the rest of the island. Our first stop was a church that was destroyed during Hurricane Ofa in 1990. The plaque reads:
With the Village completely destroyed, the villagers swam to Falealupo Primary School to the North. This Church remains a monument to the courage and love to the people of Falealupo.
We also climbed a giant banyon tree. There used to be a canopy walk but apparently one of the boards broke and someone fell last year so the canopy walk was closed.
On our last night we tried to stay at a surf resort on the west side of the island but they didn't have any availability so we had lunch and headed back to Siufaga. This time we tried the BBQ chicken pizza for dinner and we definitely were not disappointed!
On our last day we went swimming at the waterfall and climbed a crater.
Before we got on the ferry we had a wonderful (albeit rushed) prawn lunch near the port. It was pretty much the best 25th birthday a girl could ask for!
3 comments:
It all looks just wonderful. I want to go
mom
looks amazing, Em. Jealous many times over :)
Just remember, its those lobster dinners that are devastating the reefs. "Eco-Tourism" in Samoa means the boys go fishing every night to the delight of the guests (like you) and the destruction of the fish and plant life of the reef.
Enjoy your meal. In a couple of years it will all be gone. And this. Did you notice? No rain forests in Savaii. They were logged out decades ago.
Welcome to the third world and glad you got to enjoy the (last) lobster.
BC
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