Western Samoa - Apia

Apia, Western Samoa

The islands are getting smaller but the fun and adventure is just as large. Apia is west of Tahiti and 2500 kilometres from Auckland, New Zealand. The Samoans are a deeply cultural and proud people. Traditional dance is taught from primary school on. They hark back to about 1000BC and were only discovered in the 1700’s by a Dutch navigator who was just passing.

As usual, the British, Americans and Germans quickly began to claim bits of Samoa for their own and the territorial bickering continued for years. In 1889, the bickering was resolved and the Americans took over the eastern islands in what is now American Samoa and the Germans got Western Samoa. The British went home.

With the coming of the first World War in 1914, the New Zealand military quietly occupied the Islands taking over from the Germans. The New Zealanders, all three of them, them managed to convince the United Nations that New Zealand should be the administering power of Western Samoa. Over much kava, this was agreed. The Yanks got the East, the Kiwis got the West and the naughty Germans got kicked out. The Western Samoans weren’t overly excited by the Haka so requested and achieved Independence in 1962.

Say hello to the mother- in-law

As you drive around Samoa you see evidence of the strong family culture that exists here. Every home has a large verandah area for the extended family to sit when visiting. This area is sometimes bigger than the home. Also, the Samoans, and Tahitians, bury their family in the front yard to keep them close. It is not uncommon to see seven or eight burial plots in Samoan yards. I can see the benefit in less mowing but doing the edges would be more difficult. I suppose you could chat to your deceased relatives whilst whipper-snippering around their memorial, to stay in their good books. You never know do you?

Property values might otherwise be affected as getting vacant possession could prove difficult without a lot of digging, but in Samoa the homes are thought of as communal and are not bought and sold outside the family.

Robert Louis Stephenson's 1800's home

Apia, the capital of Western Samoa, has its piece of fame in that Scotsman Robert Louis Stevenson lived and died here. He was the author of “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” and “Treasure Island” amongst others and found that Samoa allowed his creative juices to flow so built a stunning mountainside home and stayed until his death in 1894. His stately home and gardens, set in the mountains above Apia, is well worth the visit giving an insight to the life of the author and colonial lifestyles at the time.  The home is fully furnished and you can walk through every room, a very intimate and interactive experience.

The beer is good, as well as the view

Exploring the rest of Western Samoa consists of driving from Resort to Resort as most beaches are private and an entry fee of 10 Tala ($US5) must be paid. It is a visual feast of tropical mountainsides, white beaches, blue water and cemeteries in every front yard.

On to New Zealand, the land of the long white cloud with some of the best white wines in the world :))