Beginning with a Public Service Announcement:
The sun is a hot and burning thing (surprise!), wear factor 50 sunscreen at all times. Ideally, wear a rash vest whenever swimming/snorkeling. Kiwis can become a tad complacent about sun exposure in other countries. "Oh, you guys actually have an Ozone layer so I can forget to re-apply my Factor 30 for five hours when swimming". Most of us got some degree of sunburn on the first day and, not being one to do anything by halves, I got sun-stroke and had to skip the Giant Clam snorkeling expedition the next day. I was very disappointed, not least of all because of all of the quality innuendo that I missed out on!
Speaking of weather, it was the start of the rainy season when we arrived in early November. It rained once on our first day, it was monsoonal but brief. Other than that any rain was at night and the temperature averaged around 31 degrees.
Make the most of your duty-free allowance: Wine is expensive and usually not very nice. It's difficult to store it at the optimum temperature in the tropical heat. It goes off quickly, especially once it has been opened, so do not order it by the glass unless warm kerosene is your tipple of choice. Apparently, we drank all of the decent Chardonnay that they had on-site in the first five days and the last bottle of Substitute Sav that we ordered was corked, or more accurately in these screw cap times ...screwed.
Take local cash: ATMs are like Unicorns over there and a lot of places do not have EFTPOS. You will need it for transfers, taxis, food, and drinks and pretty much everything outside of the resort. Most local attractions like swimming holes etc charge a small entry fee and you will need cash for those. If you do forget to go to the bank before leaving the exchange rate at the local airport is surprisingly good.
In terms of packing your own tasty snacks, you are allowed to take food in so long as it is sealed. We took a LOT of cheese and crackers. Possibly too much cheese as we were frantically inhaling it two hours before our flight was due to leave. Poor Ruth turned into a back street dairy pusher in an attempt to divest herself of the last of it. Pays to bear in mind that you can't take it back into NZ once it is opened.
Tours: The cost of booking tours through the "Tour Desk" is eye-watering. Even the guy actually working on the tour desk thought it was a better option for us to get a taxi for our day trip.
And speaking of taxis, be sure to lock in any taxi quotes at the reception desk. Our transfer from RTP to the Sheraton went up ST$20 overnight from the rate we had been quoted the day before.
- Service: Island time is a thing, service can be a bit haphazard, just go with it. One day I waited an hour for a tuna sandwich (they were probably sending out for extra tomatoes*) but hey, it's not as if I had anywhere else that I needed to be. I have since read a few Trip Advisor reviews around the speed of food delivery that seem somewhat mean-spirited. It's not that anyone is deliberately dawdling, it's just that time moves at a different pace there. Embrace it, go for another swim while you are waiting, they haven't forgotten about you. Actually, sometimes they have forgotten about you and that is when all of that cheese comes in pretty handy!
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| Our cheese supply for one week |
It does pay to be very clear when ordering your food and beverages. Especially if you have any major food allergies. *On four occasions my increasingly heartfelt request for "no tomato" in my tuna sandwich was reinterpreted as "kindly take ALL of the tomatoes that you have lying around in the kitchen and place them in my sandwich. "Not a major for me, I'm not allergic to tomato, I just hate it in sandwiches, but if you have any serious nut allergies or similar I would advise being extra vigilant. And I have almost forgiven Clare for launching into a rousing chorus of "Let it Go" when the third tomato infiltrated food item was placed in front of me. And yes, I do hear you saying that the definition of insanity is continuing to order the tuna sandwich expecting a different result. I think it had turned into something of a running joke by the fourth attempt.
Natural Hazards: If you are nervous about Tsunami risk be aware that the resort is an absolute beachfront experience. We felt one tiny earthquake while we were there. It was enough to cause us to cast a wary eye out to sea and actually read the Tsunami evacuation instructions in the room. That done we went back to eating our cheese because if you worried too much about these things you wouldn't go anywhere. Maybe just don't watch "The Impossible" before you go!
- Take reef shoes, or buy some in Apia for the princely sum of ST$10 (approx NZ$6). There are a lot of rocks in the water. And be careful around the coral, obviously for ecological reasons but also because of coral cuts. They can become infected very quickly in a tropical climate.
Also Mosquitos, Samoan mozzies are vicious and apparently had not eaten for a month when we arrived. They latched onto us like millennials on an almond latte. Take mozzie repellant. Based upon our experience the local specimens have developed something of a taste for Aeroguard and none of the "natural" options gave them a second's pause. Much as I hate the chemical warfare approach, the only things that seemed to work were Deet and Bushmans. Both of which are the rough equivalent of hosing down your body with liquid Napalm.
Ideally, take one of those plug-ins (the plugs are the same as NZ over there). We spent the week comparing the size of our mozzie bites and passing around the antihistamines and anti-itch cream like party pills. On the bright side, there are no malarial or dengue-fever carrying mozzies there so you may be itchy but you won't be in mortal peril. However, Zika Virus has been a thing over there and although there are no current outbreaks it really does pay to avoid being bitten if you can.
- Tipping: As in most of the Islands, tipping is appreciated but not expected. We decided not to tip individual staff as we went along. Instead, we made a team donation to the local school when we checked out.
Wifi is expensive and patchy. If you have Vodafone's $7 a day roaming package you will be fine but if you are going to be relying on the local Wifi I would suggest that you do not go on holiday with any deadlines hanging over your head.
Speaking of heads, if you want to do the flowers in your hair thing it's good to know that those beautiful hibiscus flowers close up at night leaving you looking as though you have purposely tucked a piece of decaying vegetation behind your ear. Go with the Frangipani at dinner time. And always check any potential adornments for ants BEFORE attaching to your person.
And finally...
