We reached Savaii and headed up to the north of the island. The thing with all the Polynesian Pacific Island nations is that they were all formed by volcanoes - well they basically are volcanoes. Recently Tonga (a nearby Island) made the headlines as just offshore of the country - huge amounts of gas and ash spewed from the sea. Magma from below the oceans floor was being released in a new volcanic eruption. With enough magma release land will start to form and poke it's head out of the sea and with enough magma a new island will form - just like all the others in this part of the world. It's a shame that it doesn't happen around England. It would save dramatically on overpopulation, if suddenly a large bit of land popped out of the North Sea. We would have a lot more housing space!!! The main volcano on Savaii (Matavanu) last erupted in just 1905 and because of this so much of the island's coast doesn't have a sandy beach but instead is replaced by black volcanic lava flows. The northern region, where we were heading however did have a beach - and a very nice one at that too.
Again we stayed in an open beach fale and again we did a lot of lazing about in the sand. We did however, make some time to get off our arses and explore. Our mode of transport was push bikes (as we couldn't afford a car and they don't have motorbikes or anything really similar, which I found unusual as mopeds were the main way to get about on the Asian Islands. We did however look ridiculous. 5 tourists cycling down the street while local's waved and shouted at us. I thought we looked like we were straight out of the film E.T and I just wished our bikes had baskets on the front.
We stopped off at the nearby lava flows. The last eruption from Matavanu Volcano between 1905-1910 produced huge amounts of material, spewing lava for miles and wiping out small villages. We stopped off at a very famous church in which the lava flowed around it and onwards, then decided it would turn back somehow and then barge straight through the front door. The only things still standing are the brick walls. The lava flows were very impressive for me at least, although everyone else didn't appear as excited as I was for some reason. Predictions are that Matavanu Volcano will erupt again in the next 10-15 years.
Later Scott and I headed off in another direction to find the Dwarf Caves. We knew roughly where we were going but had no idea it would be so hard to get too. It took us about an hour to ride there - up-hill. At one point I was sure I was dead but eventually you reach a small village with a sign pointing the way. Then you have to wait until a guide turns up. He walks you for another 30 minutes past farmland and rainforest, pointing out all the crops that they grow and what plants are used for healing etc. Eventually we reach this tiny hole in the floor. He guides you as the caves are pitch black. I then realise that these are lava caves and are huge. He took us deep enough to reach the first pool (apparently there are 6 altogether but probably would have taken forever to reach the latter ones). In the pitch black he then tells you to stand on the ledge and jump into the pool - you can't even see where your jumping - but you do hit water and cold water at that. He guided us to some other parts of the cave. At one point he went very quiet and then suddenly shined his torch up to the ceiling to reveal a large bat. Then shouting "batman, batman" to us, swiftly disturbed the poor creature which decided to fly straight towards us and over our heads. While Scott was panicking (he really doesn't like bats) - I'm scrambbling around in the dark shouting - "Rabies, Run!!!". He eventually led us out and we returned down-hill by bike to our resort.
We learnt a lot about Samoa and it's people. While the country isn't really poor - a lot of people's earnings are tied up in the church. Apparently 60% of your wages go to the church and there are a lot of big and extravagant churches around the country. Still, everyone seems happy. It's a relaxing life for the most part although they do work hard, generally in family businesses. The country doesn't really have any dangerous creatures - at least not on land anyway. I was most worried about standing under the coconut trees as falling coconuts kill more people each year than sharks - fact. The sun here is as strong as in New Zealand - that hole in the o-zone must be growing, yet for the entire time in Samoa we had perfect weather. It's a tropical climate and so at night we did have a couple of thunderstorms but in the day we didn't feel a drop. Mostly even the nights were wet free and we would spend a lot of time lying in the sand and looking at the Milky Way. I don't think I have ever seen so many shooting stars before.
We left Savaii after our three days on the island and returned by ferry to Upolu. We had one day left and the airport really isn't very far from the capital - Apia, so off we headed there. We took a local bus to Apia. Local buses are certainly an experience. They are brightly coloured, have no windows and are crammed full of people. Then with the wind in your hair, they crank up the music. It's the way to travel in my opinion. In Apia, we walked around the markets (haggling for everything we wanted) and took in the sights. On the local bus, Scott was seated next to William - Samoa's Chief of Police and also a United Nation's peace keeper. He took us under his wing - telling us where to stay and even giving us a ride to the airport at 4am. We said if he was ever in Auckland - he could come and stay in our flat!!!
We arrived at the airport a little sad. It was soon taken over by fear though as rumours of something called Swine Flu had suddenly burst onto every news channel on the planet. There were no delays and we arrived back in Auckland, cold and utterly depressed. We soon got over it though. I'm heading off to the travel agent on Monday. Now - I've heard Vanuatu is nice.
Friday 8 May 2009
Savaii
Upolu (Samoa)
To fly to a South Pacific tropical island from England isn’t cheap. I mean it’s all the way on the other side of the world. Luckily I happen to be on the other side of the world and New Zealand has to be the perfect departure point to visit any of the little island nations that sit so close to this stretch of land. While I’m in NZ I thought I couldn’t and probably shouldn’t pass up such an opportunity to explore this part of the world, and so some time ago I booked return flights to Samoa. There were 5 of us going; my two flat mates – Harriet and Scott, Myself of course, and also Rob and Kate who had just finished their month of exploring New Zealand’s South Island.
Out of all the South Pacific Islands I’m not actually sure why we chose Samoa in particular. I think it covered all the basic criteria, with incredible beaches, a lot of sun and some cool activities to see. Plus it isn’t currently disrupted by political affairs or about to erupt lava all over the place - as is the case with other nearby nations.
To get to Samoa you need some sort of time machine – it can be anything you like. We chose a Boeing 737. We left on Saturday 25th April, very early in the morning and 4 hours later arrive in Samoa on Friday 24th April. Now I’m not stupid (well mostly not) but we had just travelled back in time. Apparently this rare phenomenon has something to do with what’s known in the world of fantasy as – The International Dateline (IDL). The IDL is an imaginary line on the surface of the Earth opposite the Prime Meridian, where the date changes as one travels East or West across it. Samoa is not just across the dateline from New Zealand but is almost right on top of it. Either way, crossing the IDL travelling East (as we had done) results in a day or approximately 24 hours being subtracted, while crossing West results in a day being added. Essentially what this all means is I would get to experience Friday the 24th April, 2009 all over again. This was quite fortunate – as I wasn’t really that happy about my first Friday 24th April – it was generally filled with going to work in Auckland, boring packing and running about airports, so I was delighted that I would get another crack at it. I was sure as I stepped off the plane to a wall of heat; surrounded by Palm Trees, clear blue skies and clearer blue waters – that my second Friday 24th April would certainly exceed my first.
Samoa (also known as Western Samoa and very different from nearby American Samoa) is situated just East of the International dateline and just South of the equator, about halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii, in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean. The countries total land area is just smaller than the US state of Rhode Island and while there are hundreds of small islands associated with Samoa, 99% of this land area is located on its two main islands – Savaii (the big island) and Upolu (the small island). The international airport is on Upolu where we were greeted by a tropical paradise.
We spent our first three nights at a Beach Fale resort on the South-East tip of Upolu and the complete opposite end of the country from the airport. We taxied across the island, taking in the stunning scenery. Upolu has a Jungle interior, generally sparse of inhabitants apart from the odd scattered town. It’s along the Island’s stunning coast that most villages reside. We arrived at Lolamanu – considered to be the most spectacular beach in Samoa and it didn’t disappoint. I’m not going to describe it to you – it’s exactly how you would imagine a beach paradise tropical island to look like. Palm trees along the front, white sand, crystal clear blue sea – you know the deal. We stayed in an open beach fale. Essentially a hut, located right on the beach front, yet while they have a roof – they don’t have any walls. You do have a cover to wrap around the sides (as makeshift walls) but otherwise you just leave them completely open to the elements and because there are no doors on it – you wake up to the sight and sound of the sea. I highly recommend such accommodation. When we arrived they were actually using our fale for photographs and there was a stunning young female Samoan model posing in it. Apparently it was for the new Samoan tourist brochure and they wanted some pics. Unfortunately when they cleared our fale for us they took the stunning young female Samoan model with them.
Actually on Upolu we were pretty lazy – I mean we wanted a holiday and to do very little for most of the time and for those first three days that’s exactly what we did. We swam in the sea and lazed on the beach drinking out of coconuts. I had brought the football of course and we spent many a time playing all sorts of games in the water – particularly with local Samoan kids who were desperate to join in. We also all got burnt on our first day – the sun really is strong in this part of the world. On our first night, we drank most of our duty free alcohol and got chatting to a trainee Priest who told us of a party down the road. Barefoot, Harriet, Scott and I trudged down the road in the pitch black with not a clue where we were going. We eventually gave up and ended up hitch-hiking back with some Samoan guys who were very keen on our bottle of alcohol. The night ended with the three of us in the sea (swim-wear forgotten but alcohol not forgotten) and then bumping into our friend John the Priest who was also taking a 2am swim. The next morning John was gone and so was our half bottle of Vodka – Priests!!!
The restaurant catered for all our food needs – where we were brought a variety of traditional Samoan dishes. They mainly constitute; Taro, which is a potato but not one I have ever tasted before. It was grey in the middle and was more closely related to the texture of Kumara or sweet potato – except it wasn’t sweet. They put it with this green sauce and it was pretty tasty. Other dishes use a lot of fruit (fruit out in Samoa was delicious) – especially bananas. In fact they have so many bananas everywhere you can literally go up to the tree and help yourself. They have a tree growing outside every bus stop for you to snack while you wait!!! We also ate a lot of pig – they are running around all over the island, and fried chicken is also popular. The other main dishes involve some sort of fish. Now I’m not usually in for trying such sea-faring things but I did manage to taste a few different varieties of watery creatures and some where even edible to my taste buds, but I don’t think I will be making a habit of it.
We spent our other nights, drinking and chatting to other tourists and the local Samoan’s. On one night the resort put on a traditional dance performance. The music and the dancing was very much reminiscent of a Maori performance I saw in NZ – but then they are very closely related, all being part of the Polynesian style. There was fire dancing too, which reminded me of my time in Asia – especially Thailand where similar fire throwing dances were common on the beach-front. The Samoan performers were great, dressed in traditional gear (which isn’t very much clothing). The Samoan’s are huge too. Just like the Maori’s, pretty much most of the Samoan’s you meet are eight times your size in all directions. They may have pretty flowers in their hair and where lava lava’s (a single piece of rectangular cloth worn like a kilt or skirt) but you wouldn’t want to play Rugby with any of them. They are however extremely friendly and helpful.
Eventually, we left Lolamanu and headed off to the big Island, Savaii. We stopped through the countries capital – Apia, which is a big hustle and bustle town full of markets, crazy transportation and generally pure chaos. We were going to spend our last day in Apia so decided to skip straight to the ferry port and catch a ride over. The boat trip is an hour and something and after passing some cool looking smaller islands on the way we reached Samoa’s largest landmass island – Savaii.........................
Visiting Some Old Friends In Queenstown
So I had finished my time in Dunedin. The Samples were ready and the work was complete. I spent my last night in Dunedin getting a bit merry with everyone in my hostel and with Harriet who had popped down for the weekend. The next morning we caught the bus to Queenstown.
Queenstown is one of those places that from the minute you arrive, you take a big deep breath and everything in the world seems right again. It was the same feeling I got when I crossed over the border from Vietnam to Cambodia. I’m sure the place varies from one person to the next, but when you find it – you know you love it straight away. This was my second trip to Queenstown. The first time I travelled here was during my first month in New Zealand, about 8 months ago. Darren and I had stopped through here for a week, blew all our money on snowboarding, drinking and jumping off pretty much all there was to jump off. We always said we would return and live here, but then I got a job extension up in Auckland and instead Darren moved down here with his girlfriend Jaqui. They were the main reason I was back – to see my friends and of course have a bit of fun.
Harriet was with us for about 4 of the 10 days I was in Queenstown. She hadn’t been here since she was a kid so we thought we would take her back to her past and go for a bit of lugeing. You have to go up the Sky Gondola to the top of a big hill which overlooks QT and provides some of the most amazing views in New Zealand. Then you go up higher on a stair lift and make your way back down in a go-kart that has no engine. You race on gravity – round one of two tracks which have jumps, tunnels and sharp turns. When the four of us entered the start line – we all had one thing on our minds - disrupt all your opponents with any means necessary – even if that means getting violent. Watching us ride down must of looked ridiculous as we all tried to grab each other’s steering wheels and veer our competitors off track. I was by far the most pathetic. I would always try and go that step too far, attempting to take the ultimate in short cuts only to find myself stuck on the verge as 10 year old kids flew past me. It was fun nonetheless.
Darren and Jaqui are both fine, they live in a cool little house a few minute’s walk from town with three other couples who all seemed very pleasant although we here some issues arise with certain individuals. They also have a resident cat that continually drinks out of the toilet bowl. He seems to drink more often than most cats and I have put that down to him just showing off in front of guests. Daz and Jaqui very kindly let Harriet and I stay in their place for the duration.
We spent many a night going out for a drink or two and went to one of Darren and Jaqui’s friend’s house parties. The days were sunny and hot and we would chill in the park or walk by the lake or often spend many an hour in the British Sweet Shop (where I’ve just been told Darren now has a part time job) and purchase pretty much one of everything – and often more than one. At night though it was freezing cold, enough to force me into a mad snowboarding trousers purchase. When Harriet left, things didn’t really change. For me this trip to Queenstown was more about spending time with my friends who I hadn’t seen for 3 months. We did have time for one adrenaline fuelled activity though.......
Darren and I have both done 5 Bungy Jumps each. We have both Skydived and done a base-wire jump off Auckland’s Sky Tower. So we wanted to do something a little different. Above the looming Shotover Canyon, the crazy Kiwi’s have created a swing – the Canyon Swing. It’s pretty much like a Bungy Jump. You’re attached to a rope except that this one sits around your stomach. You stand on the end of a platform and then jump. I think the freefall is about 60m but instead of bouncing back up like a normal Bungy you arc out into a huge swing. Eventually it comes to a stop and you hang above the canyon before being winched back up. Darren, Jaqui and I participated. The great thing about the Canyon Swing is there are so many ways you can jump. The first time I leapt off feet first as if you had just stepped of the ledge of a building. You get the exact same adrenaline rush as a Bungy Jump. In fact – it generally doesn’t matter how big the fall is because it’s those first few moments after just jumping that you savour. The higher the fall only translates into the more scared you are of leaping off – as I was on the Nevis. Once you have paid the first time the second jump is ridiculously cheap and so we all decided to go again.
All the jump styles have different names. For my second jump I did the ‘Gimp Boy Goes To Hollywood’ jump. This is how it works. They hook you up with all the ropes. They then winch you out over the canyon and leave you hanging. Now comes a bit of acrobatics. You have to lift your legs up and wrap them around the rope that sits vertically from your harness. Now you’re essentially completely upside-down, your legs are up and your head faces the canyon floor. They then stick a teddy that has been dressed up to look like he very much enjoys a bit of S and M and places it between your bum. They then pull the pin and you drop head first all the way down. Ah, the things we do for fun.
Queenstown was just like I had remembered. I don’t know when or if I’m going to get to New Zealand’s south Island for a while, if at all, so I’m glad I spent a final fling in QT. I caught my flight back to Auckland to start work again.............but you know me – work doesn’t last for long. This time it was just a week.............and then I was off – for a week long holiday out of New Zealand. And before you ask – yes, I did have to time travel to get there.................
