Feature I wrote on Samoa for the February 2008 issue of Travel Digest. I travelled to this Pacific Island as part of my assignment.

1. Aggie Grey’s Lagoon
Beach Resort and Spa
Talofa Samoa!
More than just tropical islands, Samoa is a very special land
of extraordinary beauty, writes SARAH WEEKS.
M
y flight arrives very late on a Friday night, five past place of great significance for the Samoan people. After suffering from
midnight to be precise. It’s always a strange feeling tuberculosis for most of his life, writer Robert Louis Stevenson spent
arriving in a foreign land at dark. Your senses are more the last four years of his life here in Apia. His physician believed the
alive than ever. The air is hot and heavy; I can smell the climate here to be better for his condition. He built his home Vailima,
sweet fragrance of Frangipani and taste the salty sea breeze. It seems which overlooks the city, and wrote 13 novels during his time here,
the whole town of Apia has come out to see the new arrivals into their most notably Treasure Island. He passed away in 1894 and the locals,
island. As I walk out of the arrival gate, I scan the crowds of people who affectionately referred to him as Tusitala (Samoan for story writer),
searching for my pick up. Finally I find my tour guide, Dominic. buried him on Mt. Vaea, which overlooks Vailima and the city. The
My first stop is the Samoan Outrigger Hotel, a budget - mid-range home is now open to visitors as a museum in his honour. For a man
accommodation. The facilities here are fairly basic but more than I who only spent a few years in Samoa, he achieved a great deal and his
need as the thought of sleep draws me towards my room. Apart from legend lives on today through the people.
the odd disruption upstairs during the night, from a group of rowdy We leave Apia, commencing our tour of the east and south coast. We
young guests, my sleep is pleasant to say the least. Breakfast is a simple stop at a few waterfalls along the way, namely Sopoaga Falls, which are
affair, and I familiarise myself with a fellow guest from Germany who by far the biggest I have seen on the island. From the lookout point,
tells me the fales here are fabulous. there is also a small garden showcasing native flora. Dominic shows
The weather this morning is not the best. Having Googled the me how to crack open a coconut, scrape the inside out and squeeze them
weather in Samoa before I left Auckland, I had already prepared myself through the husk to produce coconut cream. I decide to give it a go
for what was described as thunderstorms, but this is not the case at all. myself and find there is quite a technique to perfecting this skill, which
A few rain showers here and there never hurt anyone. Besides, the air he makes look so easy.
is still very warm. Along the coast, there are a few five-star resorts on the beach
Our first stop is the famous Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, a including Coconuts and Sinalei Reef Resort. Both of which have
Where will your career take you? tmsap.com Travel Digest, February 2008 23