Savai’i (kind of)

Today’s day trip to Savai’i, Samoa’s largest island, didn’t go exactly as planned. Our guide, Chief Tai (yes he really is a local chief), picked us up from our resort at 6:40am. The early start was required in order to catch an 8:00am ferry across Apolima Strait to Savai’i. The weather forecast wasn’t ideal with passing showers forecast. However, our guide thought we’d be ok.

As we arrived at Mulifanua wharf the rain started falling. To our dismay, we discovered that the ferry company had rostered one of its landing craft vessels onto our scheduled sailing. This smaller vessel, the MV SSC Fasefulu, is an open deck ship with limited indoor seating. In other words, while crossing the 20km of ocean separating Upolu and Savai’i, we’d be exposed to the elements.

However, to our surprise, Chief Tai arranged for us to join the crew on the bridge. As a result, we stayed sheltered from the weather and enjoyed a bird’s eye view of cars and trucks being loaded on board. Below is an image of the ferry I later took during our return sailing. 

Once on Savai’i we made our way along the southern coast towards the island’s iconic Alofaaga Blowholes. However, as we ventured west the weather deteriorated rapidly into heavy showers. Our guide became increasingly agitated. He explained that the road is often blocked by localised flooding after heavy rain.

Apparently, heavy rain on the slopes of Mt Silisili, the island’s highest peak, can quickly overwhelm streams along the entire coast. At first, I thought he was exaggerating. That is until we encountered a fast-flowing dirty brown torrent surging knee-deep across the highway, less than a kilometre from the blowhole turnoff.

Needless to say, our guide promptly abandoned the tour and returned to Salelologa. As we drove he expressed fears that other streams were now flooding. Fortunately, his fears proved unfounded and we made it safely back to the ferry wharf. However, we passed over several bridges with wild waters raging below so his distress wasn’t entirely misplaced. 

As we approached Salelologa we stopped to admire Mu Pagoa Waterfall in full flood. The fall is an impressive sight. It flows over an arcing five-metre ledge of black volcanic rock directly into the pounding Pacific ocean. 

Access to the waterfall is across private land (we literally walked through a grassy paddock to get there). As a result, it’s not signposted from the road. We later learnt that thanks to this hidden access very few tourists actually see the falls. Even fewer witness it in full flood.

Our guide decided to return on an earlier sailing as poor weather often causes cancellations. As a result, we found ourselves disembarking in Upolu, hours ahead of schedule. Ironically, the weather on Upolu was only partially overcast, dry and warm. 

Our guide offered to refund the tour. While we appreciated the gesture, we declined his offer. Instead, to compensate us, he shouted lunch at a local resort and took us on a leisurely drive along the southwest coast. The church shown above, located in Falelatai, was one highlight along the way. Sadly my photos didn’t turn out so I’ve ripped this image from Google Street View.