Independent Samoa (South Pacific Islands)

Sitting on a roof-top veranda and gazing out towards the reef where punishing rips and currents swirl, I thought how fortunate I had been to arrive in Samoa on a comfortable airliner instead of by the rickety boats made of palm trees used by the first Polynesian settlers to arrive here. Yet in many ways, the islands that make up Samoa (Independent Samoa) are little changed since those settlers arrived some 2000 years ago as part of a migration of humans across the Pacific from the Philippines and Papua New Guinea to Tahiti and Easter Island. Samoa is still largely covered by pristine ... more

Samoa Country: Independent Samoa Capital: Apia Location: 13 .5 S & 171.5 W, in the South Pacific between New Zealand and Hawaii Time: GMT-12hours – though they have started day light saving to keep with New Zealand time zones Language: Samoan, English People: Polynesian Currency: Samoan tala Getting there (from U.K.): Air New Zealand from London to Apia via Los Angeles. There are flights direct from Australia too We arrived by air with Air New Zealand from London via Los Angeles which was a killer of a journey so we were pretty tired when we arrived. The airport is tiny but I discovered as we ... more