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Apia is 2892km closer to the equator than Auckland; that alone might be reason enough to choose Samoa for a winter break. We followed a personal recommendation to stay at Virgin Cove Resort on the south coast, near the village of Saanapu. Here we spent a week swimming, reading, eating and sleeping: it was just what the doctor ordered.

Reaching the resort

Polynesian Blue, with domestic flights between Wellington and Auckland on Air New Zealand, was cheaper than Air New Zealand alone. We arrived at around 2100h and the resort had organised a transfer for a very reasonable 80 tala. An hour from Apia on the south coast, our cross-island journey afforded us glimpses into the lives of the locals. Most were watching TV at this hour, seated on the floor of open fales. Children walking the road by starlight and packs of dogs would appear suddenly out of the darkness, our driver struggling to see them through the condensation on his windshield. The last 1.5km to Virgin Cove was a corrugated sand track, the lush vegetation on either side looking especially dense in the gloom of the taxi's headlamps.

We were lying on our mattress by midnight, listening to the cacophony of lapping wavelets just metres from our fale, the far-off crashing of waves on the reef, and the play of the wind in the palms and woven blinds of our shelter. We felt secure under our mosquito net, although had they been buzzing we could not have heard them. We doused our kerosene lamp and soon slept, until nature called in the small hours. It got surprising cool, such that despite pyjamas and a sheet we had to huddle for warmth. The orange glow of dawn appeared through the raised blinds on the seaward end of our fale but we did not stir until around 0900h.

The beach in front of our door at Virgin Cove

Meals

Breakfast (like the main course at dinner) was included in the cost of the accommodation, and was served between 0800 and 1000h. It included a hot beverage (tea or coffee), sliced bread (or toast when this was stale), and variations on a fruit platter, perhaps with some kind of rice porridge that must have been an acquired taste.

We only ordered a lunch once: a tuna stir fry that contained just one half-chunk of tuna (subsequently served again that night for dinner, but with chicken). The rest of the time we made do with crisps or biscuits we bought in Apia.

Guests could choose, for an additional small cost, to have a starter or desert with their evening meal. The portion size of the main was adequate, not generous, but invariably edible.

Alcohol, fruit juice, chips, bottled water, etc. could be purchased from reception.

The resort graciously provided a cake to celebrate Simone's and Sharon's birthday.

We didn't get sick and two other couples said that the kitchen at the resort looked to be the cleanest of any they had encountered during their Samoan holiday. Some people had become ill elsewhere in the islands.

Facilities

We were very pleased with our fale. We did have an earwig infestation (oddly enough centred around my toothbrush, which had to be thrown). Other fales were apparently bothered by invading hermit crabs, but the most common complaint we heard related to dampness. We suspect this may have been due to some of the fales being a lot nearer the ground than ours and thus perhaps not as well ventilated. In fact, had our fale been set back from the beach we would no doubt have found it uncomfortable without full force of the cooling breeze. The fale was sparsely equipped with mattresses, pillows, a sheet, a mosquito net, a single cabinet, and a kerosene lamp. We felt that indoor/outdoor chairs would have been a welcome addition, since one grew tired of reading in bed or sitting outside on hard tree trunks. Towels were also provided although not on our first day since the laundry was late—not that it mattered too much, since there was no running water for the first couple of days either (apparently due to a leak). A guest information notice—something else we had wished for—was tacked onto our wall as if by telepathy near the end of our stay.

The interior of our fale

When there was water we had use of a poorly-illuminated flush loo (when there was no water the resort had to share a single composting toilet, and wash hands in the sea). Adjacent to this was a cold shower screened by a lava rock wall, and a hand-basin area.

The temporary lack of water didn't upset us; we hadn't been expecting a "resort" in the usual sense. In fact such foibles and the lack of formality were part of the attraction: we remarked that the whole experience was more akin to camping than staying at a hotel. We came to escape routines and regimented existence for a short while, leaving behind our inflated consumer expectations.

The main building contained the dining area, reception, bar, and bathroom facilities and was sited at the edge of the only open area in the resort. It is the only part of the resort to have electricity (with NZ/AU-style sockets).

The world is one large construction site and Virgin Cove was no exception to the rule of expansion. Some of our anticipated peaceful afternoons were disturbed by the sound of hammering and chain-sawing as a new fale was constructed nearby.

Climate

Very comfortable on the whole. We did have some sticky nights, and some quite chilly—this being dependent on the strength of the breeze. It typically rained briefly but intensely during the night, and only one day was marked by occasional daytime showers. Apia seemed a lot hotter than Virgin Cove.

Wildlife

The crabs made a big impression. Some of them were huge and had dug out holes the size of rabbit burrows! They seemed sensitive to movement/ vibration but also had keen vision, diving into their holes before we could get too close. We spent quite some time watching their activities on the beach just before sunset each day.

The mosquitos were something of a problem. They seemed immune to our spray and lotion, silently drinking our blood so that we didn't notice and woke each morning to discover new bites, presumably obtained during the previous evening. The geckos living in our fale were definitely outnumbered.

You could see fish from the beach, or in rock pools where they were trapped by the outgoing tide. We didn't actually go snorkelling; the reef just offshore was pretty dead. Reef shoes are almost essential, even when swimming, and particularly at low tide, since even dead coral can cause nasty wounds (also be careful walking on the black lava rocks; they get very slippery when wet).

There were surprisingly few birds.

Activities

Of course there is swimming, sleeping, and reading—which occupied nearly all our time. The water could be a little chilly at first, but once you were in was very pleasant and never grew cold. Being equatorial it was also more buoyant than in New Zealand (where more salt precipitates out).

We often stayed "home". You can see why.

Each day at 1000h Island Time (i.e. give-or-take a half hour or so) there was a local activity lead by Numia, a very likeable fellow escaping from his 10 children. We enjoyed jungle lore, coconut husking, making coconut milk, and church on Sunday—but missed out on the weaving and whatever else was offered due to ignorance about the activity program.

Every Saturday night there is a fiafia (dancing with pyrotechnics, singing).

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