Outrigger Canoeing

One of my workmates is involved in one of the outrigger canoe clubs here and has been asking Angela and me to come down and have a go.  Ang wasn’t too keen, especially after her experience of getting sea sick while kayaking at SaMoana, and we have usually been busy with netball and other things.  But last week I finally went down to the harbour and checked it out. 

Actually we are trying to put together a team from work to enter the Independence Day regatta next weekend.  It is getting a bit late to do any serious training, but we thought it would be a good idea if all of the crew had at least been in the boat once or twice before race day! 

So, I joined the rest of our crew for my first introduction to outrigger canoe, or va’a, racing.  Some of our crew had paddled before, but most of us hadn’t. All of our most experienced paddlers are actually involved in running the regatta so won’t be able to race with us. So our motley crew piled into the boat and went for a paddle. I didn’t get much instruction, but was able to figure out which end of the paddle to hold! After a few easy circuits in front of the yacht club we tried a couple of longer runs.  It was good fun, and when everyone is going in time the boat moves along quite well.  These are 6 man canoes and are quite big. We found it takes quite a bit of effort to get them up and going and that they don’t always go in a straight line!  Somehow I got ‘promoted’ to the number 1 seat at the front of the boat and the very important job of setting the pace for the rest of the crew.  After about an hour it got dark so we had to call it quits, but I must admit I was pretty tired by then.  

Since that first practice I have managed to join in one more session. We did some 500m sprints, and we were puffing at the end of that. I missed practice last night, but apparently they managed to capsize the boat!  The races are this weekend, so I will post an update and our results next week. Hopefully we will have some photos too.    

Mother's Day

A couple of weeks ago it was Mother’s Day, which meant a long weekend for us as the Monday after Mother’s Day is a public holiday. This also coincided with our wedding anniversary, so we decided to treat ourselves to 3 days at Manono Island.  

This time we stayed at Sunset View Fales, rather than with our friends at their fales.  After a pleasant boat trip (no sea sickness) we arrived at our destination to be welcomed to ‘Fawlty Towers’ by Basil.  Basil turned out to be Ewen – a semi-retired kiwi who now spends the New Zealand winters in Samoa and the summers back in New Zealand.  He has spent so long at Sunset View that he is now one of the family and they have even built him his own fale.  Anyway, this particular weekend the proprietor (Leota) was away in Savaii receiving a very special matai title. Because it was such a special occasion his wife (Sau) had gone with him. Apparently this was the first time that both of them had been away at the same time and Ewen had been left in charge. He said he was feeling a bit like Basil Fawlty, surrounded by Samoan ‘Manuels’.  Actually the Manuels were Leota and Sau’s 4 boys and between them they did a pretty good job of looking after us. 

After settling in and enjoying our lunch we decided to take a walk around the island.  This time we weren’t being escorted by our friends’ sons and we were allowed to stop and take photos without being told to hurry up!  By the time we got half way round it was getting really hot so we jumped in for a swim. We got back to our fale just before the heavy rain started, so there was nothing else to do but kick back with a Jack Daniels & Coke, some snacks and a book.  

We were all invited to attend the Mother’s Day church service on Sunday morning. For the keen ones we were also invited to help prepare the umu for Sunday lunch before heading to church.  Much to my surprise Angela was keen to get up at 6.30 and watch the preparation of the umu. We set our alarm and headed down to the ‘kitchen’ at 6.30, but there wasn’t much sign of activity. Apparently the oldest boy had slept in and he is the one in charge of the umu so things were a bit slow getting underway.  Anyway, we watched as one of them peeled the husks off the coconuts. These were later used for the fire.  The coconuts were then spit in half and grated. There was quite a big pile of coconuts to be grated, so after a while I was roped in to finish off grating the rest of them while the boys prepared the fire.  Meanwhile taros and breadfruit were being peeled.  The grated coconut flesh was then squeezed to make the freshest, tastiest coconut milk you will ever get.  Then it was time to make the palusami.  This involves taking some baby taro leaves in the palm of your hand and cupping your hand to form a small dish or well. Some coconut milk (seasoned with salt and diced onion) is spooned into the taro leaves.  Then the taro leaves are carefully folded in to form a ball filled with coconut milk.  The trick is to layer the taro leaves so that the coconut milk doesn’t leak out.  Next step involves wrapping the parcel in a banana leaf and finally it is wrapped in a breadfruit leaf.  The girls were pressed into service making palusami parcels. Some came out better than others, but Ang’s ones looked pretty good.  We boys also had a go, and I was pleased when my effort didn’t leak and passed the inspection of Junior, our teacher.  Once everything was prepared it placed on the hot rocks and covered with leaves and left to cook.  

After breakfast we had time to get dressed up in our Sunday Best then it was off to church.   The Mother’s Day service was a bit longer than the usual service, and of course it was all in Samoan so it was a bit hard to follow.  Most of the other guests from Sunset View came along too, but as the service went on most of them left.  For the few of us that stayed to the end we were rewarded when we were invited to stay and enjoy cookies, cake and ice cream with the congregation. 

After church it was time to head back and check out the results of the umu.  As usual it was pretty good. Of course the palusami tasted even better the normal because we had helped to make it. 

After a big lunch the rain came back, so it was time for that traditional Samoan Sunday activity – an afternoon sleep.   After dinner we were treated to an impromptu fiafia show, put on by the boys. It was a mixture of traditional Samoan dance and even featured a fafafine performance. The show was rounded out with some hip-hop from the youngest of the boys.    

After breakfast on Monday we were taken out to the reef for some snorkelling.  It was pretty good, but not the best we have seen.  Since we have been here we have done quite a lot of snorkelling and I guess we are getting a bit picky now! Still, Angela managed to take a few more photos and it is always nice to be in the water.  

Then it was back to shore and time for lunch before we had to catch the boat back to the mainland.  We had a great weekend and were well looked after by ‘Basil’ and his trusty Samoan ‘Manuels’.  

Netball and the 'Happy Juice'

Over the last month or so Samoa's Men's Netball Association has been fundraising to send a team the men's netball world cup in the Cook Islands in October.  One of their events was a 1 day tournament held one Saturday recently.  Of course Angela could stay away from a netball tournament, so we turned up to play, this time with our mates from the Hyundai team. 

As per usual the 10.00am start didn't happen and we finally got started at 11.00.  They actually had more teams than expected - 12 in total - so had to modify the draw. The end result was that we had to play 5 games, plus a semi-final and final if we got that far.  Fortunately the games were shorter (2 x 10 minute halves) but it is still a lot of netball for one day.  

Anyway, we got started and were going OK. It was good to be playing with the old Hyundai team again.  After a couple of games we were all hot, tired and thirsty and this is when the 'Happy Juice' was concocted, as per the following recipe:

Take 1 chilly bin (or esky if you are an Aussie, cooler for the Americans) and tip in a couple of bags of ice. Then mix up a few bottles of Sprim (Sprim is a powdered drink like Raro or Refresh in NZ or Tang in the US) and pour them into the ice. Then take one bottle of vodka (cheap, local vodka - don't waste your best 42 below on this brew!) and pour it into the chilly bin.  Stir and enjoy!   

So it was compulsory shots of 'Happy Juice' after each game - the more shots the better.  It seemed to be doing the trick as our performances picked up after we had been 'refreshed'.  Some of the boys might have over done it a bit,  I did notice some of them slowing down in our later games!  

Because of the late start and large number of teams the tournament seemed to go on forever.  We had done well enough  to make the semi-final, and we won that game quite easily, so we found ourselves in the final against the V-Bar Girls.  It was a tough, close game, but we won and collected our first trophy for the Hyundai team!   

We were all convinced that the 'Happy Juice' had made the difference, it was our edge over all the other teams. Luckily there was no drug testing at this tournament!!   

USP Netball

Some people have commented that they haven't heard about our netball for a while and wonder if we are still playing.  Of course we are - Angela can't stay away from the netball courts for too long! 

In late March a business house competition started. Like last year this is a social competition for mixed teams, but this year we didn't play for the Hyundai team. At USP there was a group of students that were keen to play, so Angela organised a team and we played for USP. 

The first few weeks were interesting, some of them hadn't played netball before and some were not very fit, so it was a steep learning curve!! As the season went on they all improved and we had some good wins.  We had a few games where some of the Fijian boys came and played for us. They are all keen rugby players and were very fit, athletic and enthusiastic - but unfortunately they didn't know the rules! They certainly provided great entertainment for the crowd, but didn't always help the performance of the team. 

Anyway, the season ended last week and we found out that we managed to finish 3rd in our division. A pretty good result for a new team - must have been the expert coaching we got from Angela! We are still waiting for the prize giving to find out what we have won, but in typical Samoan style no one knows when that might be.

Turtles, Turtles everywhere!

Nearing the end of our holiday now but it wasn't over yet! We decided to cut our stay at Jane's fales a day short and carry on around the coast in search of a nice place to stay for our final night on Savaii. Along the way we stopped off at the spot where you can swim with the turtles. Now some people do not like the idea of this as the turtles are enclosed however I was very impressed with the large fresh and salt water pond they were in. It was very clean and clear and the turtles seemed well looked after. We got there earlyish in the morning around 9.30am and there was no one else there so the place was peaceful and quiet. It only cost us $5 each to go in to visit.

We got changed into our togs then got into the water and quietly swam around just looking in awe. It was so amazing to see the turtles up close and we got some fantastic photos with the underwater camera. At one point I stood up to adjust my mask and snorkel and felt a bumping on my legs as a small turtle decided to try and swim through them!

Before long though our peace was shattered by a rowdy Australian family who thrashed about in the water and churned up the sand so it was time to get out. I would hate to see tourists destroy the wonderful opportunity by overstepping the mark. I have heard stories of people picking them up etc. I'm not into that ..................

One last thing to vist and that was the lava flows, caused by the eruption of Mt Matavanu between 1905 and 1911, which buried villages and churches etc. We stopped to look at the village of Mauga where we saw one half buried church and the Virgin's Grave where the lava flowed around and left it undamaged. It was extremely hot on the black lava flows and amazing to see the local vegetation, frangipani trees etc, growing up out of cracks in the rock.

To finish off a brilliant holiday we finally stopped at the Siufaga Beach Fales where the Italian restaurant has a good reputation. We were lucky to get in as they were quite heavily booked but flashing about a few tala during lunch in the restaurant seemed to do the trick and we were quickly shown to a lovely room which was decorated with flowers. The shower was outside in a stone walled area which we all found fascinating. We went for a bit of a snorkel and got yelled out by the locals to get out of their roped off area! We are not sure whether this was because it was a protected area or whether they again wanted money for us to be snorkelling there. We didn't go into shore to find out. We also went for a swim in the hotel pool and had some fun taking photos of us all sitting at the pool bar on stools that were under the water.

A delicious meal to celebrate my Birthday early rounded off a great few days in Savaii.

Afu Aau Waterfall, the Blowholes and Canopy Walkway

Heading around the southern coast of Savaii we stopped at the Afu Aau Waterfalls which are quite picturesque and feature in the Lonely Planet guide. The falls are made up of a number of smaller falls. We could have dived in for a swim but were't quite ready to don the togs and sit in the car wet so carried on to the Alofaaga blowholes.

Amazing - I could have stayed there all day! What a noise as the waves roared through the rocks and blasted up through the holes sending fine mist floating through the air. A number of photos had to be taken here and you might notice we begin to look more and more like drowned rats!! We turned down the kind offer to purchase a coconut for $5 that the Samoan guide would put down one of the holes so we could see it blasted up into the air!

We were circumnavigating the island in a clock wise direction and wanted to make it as far as Manase for our night's accommodation so kept on trucking around the south coast past Lovers Leap which is not, as you would at first think, the place where lovers leap off the cliffs to their death together but more about an old blind woman and her daughter who had to leave the village. The old woman loved her daugher so much she allowed her to climb on her back before they jumped. When they both hit the water the old woman turned into a Turtle and the daughter into a Shark who can now often be seen swimming in the bay.

Next stop on our whirlwind tour of Savaii was Cape Mulinuu where you can see tomorrow. The international date line is just out to sea. It had started raining quite hard by this point though so we did not get out of the car but continued around the peninsula. The locals are quite keen here to get money out of you for any reason so when we pulled up on the side of the road to dig out the lunch someone came paddling through the rain to ask if we wanted to pay $10 to park our car there - of course the answer was "no" and we moved on!!

The rain eased up a bit so we stopped to have a look at the ruins of Cyclone Ofa, from 1990, where the village of Falealupo was completely destroyed. There were a couple of churches on opposite sides of the road along with a tomb complete with skulls and bones for all to see. That was pretty spooky actually so we left there and carried on our journey.

Next stop was at the canopy walkway. There had been some debate as to whether this was open but they were there taking our money so we assumed it was! After walking through some lovely Samoan bush we got to the base of the walkway and climbed up the stairs to the 24 metre long swing bridge 9 metres above the ground. The bridge finishes with a 20 metre high stairway up into an ancient banyan tree. Now remember I said that it had been raining? Well Mum promptly took a step out onto the bridge and the (not particularly health and safety compliant) wooden boards and slipped straight over landing on her backside. I tell you it was the dress she was wearing as that had also been the one that caused the fractured wrist! After some careful manouvreing to get back up on 2 feet while pulling herself up with said fractured wrist we all decided we had better go carefully and slowly! No more pooh hooing of the Australians who had done just this ahead of us! We made it across in 1 piece and climbed up into the banyan tree for a great view down over the canopy. Well worth the visit and the $10 each.

After this, we had been on the road most of the day and had visited some great sights so we made a beeline for our accommodation at Janes Beach Fales in Manase. Got to say we were not overly impressed with the state, or again non health and safety compliant, fales, the dinner that was served up or the flood that was otherwise known as the womens bathrooms but when the sun shone brightly the next day we soon got over these things and enjoyed a nice relaxing day swimming and reading on our balcony.

Savaii here we come!

So after our dramas at Samoana we had 1 night back in Apia to recharge batteries and get ready for our adventures in Savaii. We had a gorgeous meal this night at Giodano's one of the best italian restaurants in Apia. Mum and Adam had pizzas and Dad and I had spaghetti bolognaise or carbonara. Delicious. It was then home for an early night as we had to be up for the ferry at 6.00am....

4.30am and my eyes don't really want to open but luckily we had done all the packing and car loading the night before so just had to fall into the car and let Adam drive us to the Ferry. We dutifully went through the quarantine wheel wash, which consists of squirting the car wheels with a garden hose in a half arsed fashion! This is meant to eradicate the car of any African Giant Snails which apparently are not on Savaii yet - though we have heard otherwise. We joined the queue of cars and Adam had to do some swift manouvreing of the car backwards onto the barge. We were pretty packed in. Mum and I were not quick enough to grab a seat as the Samoan's like to lie down and promptly go to sleep so we all spent the 1 1/4 hour journey standing up at the rail. This is the best place anyway as these Ferry's have quite a sway to them! It was pitch black when we set off but we got a great view of the sunrise as we went along.

When we reached Salelologa in Savaii be disembarked and Adam took us to the Jet Over Hotel, where he had been for work, for a nice breakfast. We then drove up and down the streets to find the public library and drop something off, see the "Christmas Lights" or the new and only set of traffic lights on Savaii (which weren't working!) and go to the new markets for a look. The markets were great but the toilets have to be the worst I have seen in Samoa! Not quite sure what the lady attendant does all day apart from sit on the seat and hand out toilet paper! She also escourted me to a cubicle which I refused to go in as the toilet was so dirty. We were pleased to get out of there!

Samoana Drama

So continuing our trip around Upolu we next moved on to Samoana Resort where Adam and I had been once before. We got checked into our 2 story "fale" and appreciated the comfort after our basic stay in Maninoa. There was plenty of time for sitting in the "Air Chair" or hammock asleep or reading or having a drink or 2 in the bar before dinner.

One eventful night while Dad, Adam and I sat in the bar doing what you are meant to do when on holiday Mum decided to go out for a walk. She was gone quite a while and I was just starting to wonder where she had got to when she turned back up holding her arm. She had had an encounter with some very slippery rocks (it always pays to be wary of the green slimy ones) and had slipped over landing on her arm. The owner of Samoana was very helpful and brought us some ice which helped to make it feel better. The arm was pretty sore after this for most of the rest of the holiday actually and you will see why in the photos. Upon arriving back home in NZ (Mum was not going to go anywhere near a Samoan hospital after the stories she heard from our friends one night at dinner) the arm was found to be fractured so it's been in a purple cast for the last 4 weeks. Whoops. After this it was decided no one was going off on their own exploring. Mum however battled on like a trojan and didn't let it ruin her holiday.

The next morning was drama part 2 when we all decided to go paddling the kayaks before breakfast. As Mum could not really paddle with her arm we loaded her into a double kayak and launched her out to sea with Adam. Dad and I had to take a single kayak each. The waves were pretty rough pounding into the beach which did not make the launching very easy. Dad managed to get tipped out in the process. Before long though we were paddling happily around the coast towards Virgin Cove resort. We came to the lagoon which was like glass and was the calm before the storm. After paddling around the mangrove area and surveying the colourful fish from above we decided it was time to paddle back for breakfast.

On the way, in my wisdom or not, I decided to have a go at riding the waves on my kayak. After one successful attempt I should have quit while I was ahead however I had another go and managed to get dunked!! Ankles hit the coral but luckily the boat stayed with me. It took a bit of paddling to catch back up with Adam and Mum who had started to head for home.

Next drama to happen was that Dad got cramp. We tried our hardest to hitch him up to one of our kayaks so that we could help him paddle home but after that was unsuccessful he decided he would have to dig it in and paddle himself back. By this time Adam and I had swapped kayaks and I was now paddling Mum. We were going along great guns until a bit of swell came along and I got that ah oh feeling. Sea sickness!! I knew it wasn't going to go away so made a beeline for the beach with Adam in tow asking me what was wrong!! I was not too keen to get back in that boat I can tell you. So .... Adam paddled Mum back in the double and I stayed washed up on a desert island stranded waiting for him to come back for me.

Drama number 5 was that a freak wave caught Adam and Mums kayak on the way home. Now we all know Mum is not that happy about being out on the water at the best of times so here was the son-in-law who managed to tip her out in the deep waters and leave her to get herself back up into the boat with a fractured arm!! This story will last the distance!!

I waited and waited on my desert island and eventually was not too happy to see Adam paddling back towards me. Not happy as I had hoped he would be on foot!! Him paddling meant that I had to paddle too to get the other Kayak home. Luckily by now my tummy had settled down a bit so in we launched for the 10 minute journey. I'm pleased to say that we eventually all made it back safely.

Not without 1 more drama though! Dad on his arrival back at the beach managed to get tipped out of the kayak again and majorly graze his leg on the rocks. Pretty painful. Dr Jowitt has never had to get the First Aid Kit out so much before. Luckily the Betadine did the trick for infection.

And last but not least we all missed breakfast this morning as our sedate paddling trip took so long so we were pretty hungry by lunch time and even more hungry for dinner.

One last thing to say about Samoana was we had ordered a chocolate and coconut cake to celebrate Dad's birthday (albeit a bit early). In Samoa things are not done in halves so we managed to provide dessert for all of the guests that night and even have some left over for the ladies in the kitchen.

What a couple of days!!

Holiday Part 2

After seeing the sights of Apia it was time to head for the beach. Our first destination was Lalomanu Beach , at the eastern end of Upolu, where we stayed at Taufua Beach Fales. On the way over we stopped at the Falefa waterfall and shared some cookies with a local villager who had been out picking coconuts and papaya.

At Taufua we checked into our fales, we took a normal open fale (no walls, no bathroom) but decided to ease Mum and Dad into things gently and booked them into an enclosed fale - a fale with walls, toilet and shower.

Once we got settled in it was time for a swim. The water was lovely and warm (as it always is) and there were plenty of fish around. Dad was able to christen his mask and snorkel. Mum joined us for a swim, but we couldn't convince her to give snorkelling a try!

After our swim there was time for a walk along the beach, accompanied by 2 friendly dogs, before happy hour. We managed to get our tropical cocktails before dinner. As usual the dinner at Taufua was a feast with plenty of food to go around.

The next day was similar - walking on the beach, reading the latest gossip mags from NZ, swimming, drinking Vailima/cocktails/Jack and eating good food. What a tough life!

We also had some heavy rain overnight and in the morning, but we were pleased to see it clear up by lunchtime. Actually, we had been a bit worried, in the week before Mum and Dad arrive we had caught the tail end of a cyclone that had passed through Tonga. It didn't cause us much bother, just plenty of rain all week - just what people want on their tropical island holiday! It also created heaps of potholes on all the roads, especially the busy roads around Apia, so we spent most of the holiday weaving all over the road trying to avoid hit the biggest of them. We were glad that this rain was last of the heavy rain from the cyclone.

After relaxing at Lalomanu for a couple days we carried on around the south coast and visited To Sua Ocean Trench. This is the spot where there is a large hole in the ground that is connected to the ocean. After looking around the gardens and enjoying the view of the ocean we climbed down the ladder (how many steps was it?) and got into the pool. it was the second time that we had visited this place, but it was still an eerie feeling to be swimming around in a big hole so far below the surrounding ground and to feel the surge of the waves as they pound in against the shore.

Next stop was the Togitogiga waterfall where we enjoyed a freshwater dip. This was much better than when we visited the same falls with Latika and Hedley - on that occasion there hadn't been any rain for a while and the river had dried up!

That night we stayed at Maninoa Beach Fales. This is a basic setup aimed at surfers and is tucked in between 2 of Samoa's most upmarket resorts. We found out that Coconuts Resort was having their Fiafia Night that night, so we decided to head there for dinner and catch their show. We had a great dinner that included some Samoa favourites like palusmai, taro, breadfruit etc. We then were able to watch their show that included a kava ceremony (yes, Mum and Dad did try the kava) some fire knife dancing and some traditional dancing. The next morning we decided to have a look at the other resort, Sinalei, and had a very nice breakfast there.

Anyway, that will have to do for now. We will be back with the next installment soon.