‘The church services are not to be missed’: What the King and Queen can expect from Samoa

The simplicity and serenity of this delightful Polynesian island could prove difficult to leave behind

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Royal tours have their pressures – and the King has experienced plenty of these during his time in Australia this week. His next destination, though – the island of Samoa, where he and the Queen touched down early this morning – is certain to offer him some much-needed relaxation. But what exactly can he and his wife expect from their sojourn on this pretty South Pacific idyll?
Well, Samoa is a traditional place. You might say, in fact, that not a lot happens here. I arrived in Samoa myself in February – after some 10 years’ absence – and asked my taxi driver what had happened in the meantime. 
“Did you see the new fountain at the airport?” he replied after a long pause. “Yes, a big change.” 
Still, on this most truly Polynesian of the accessible Pacific islands, en route to my hotel, there were chickens running around the houses, we slowed down to let a pig cross the road, the trees were heavy with coconuts and breadfruits the size of rugby balls, and there was a sweet early morning smell of wood smoke for the cooking fires. I was on my way, as the King and Queen will be, to a very special resort. And I know exactly what awaits them there.
The resort has fewer than 30 villas dotted around its lush gardens, or perched on stilts close to a perfect white coral beach, and a turquoise lagoon as warm as a bath in the afternoon sun. When I was there earlier this year, the biggest (most regal) of them was being refurbished. 
The resort’s villas follow the traditional oval shape of the Samoan fale (house) – the original version of which has no walls, doors or windows, just a raised platform with a thatched roof, a mattress and a mosquito net; much favoured by backpackers who want to sleep on the beach.
Those at the resort are, of course, many, many steps up from this in the luxury stakes, but they are nevertheless simple, with authentic local decor, deep verandas and outdoor showers.
This is not unusual – most Samoan hotels are small and family-run. The first and most famous of them all is Aggie Grey’s in the capital Apia, where the villas are named after the many film stars who stayed there (Marlon Brando, Dorothy Lamour, Gary Cooper et al). The writer James A. Michener used Aggie herself as the not altogether flattering model for Bloody Mary in his Tales of the South Pacific.
Apia itself is not exactly a metropolis – the population is around 35,000 – but the King and Queen Camilla will no doubt enjoy the profound peace of being based on the south coast of Samoa’s main island of Upolu, where the local schoolchildren are thrilled if you visit them (I can attest to this) and the church services are not to be missed – everyone dresses in white and sings unaccompanied four-part harmonies pitched to raise the roof.
There are churches everywhere in Samoa, and even in the smallest villages they are as big as cathedrals. Afterwards, the King might well be invited to join in the traditional family lunch that follows the service, the Toanai. I strongly suggest he accept.
At this particular resort, I ate at a restaurant on stilts over the lagoon, devouring such delicacies as sweet tropical fruits, huge crabs and the utterly addictive Oka I’a (fresh tuna marinated in lime juice mixed with tomato and cucumber, and drenched in coconut cream). The King and Queen will no doubt be treated, too, to a fiafia night – dancing being unquestionably the most exciting entertainment on offer here.
The men are warriors and have a particularly impressive fire dance, while the women’s dances tell lyrical stories of myths, the sea and love. It says much about Samoans that fiafia also simply means happy.
By day, the King could go swimming or snorkelling in the pristine lagoon, take the Queen out on a canoe or feed fish so tame they will eat out of your hand.
The Palace announced prior to the visit that the King and Queen would receive a formal welcome to Samoa – in the form of an ‘Ava Fa’atupu ceremony – before meeting Samoans at an engagement to highlight aspects of Samoan traditions and culture, as well as spending time with young people, and community and faith leaders.
The King, the statement said, will visit both a mangrove forest and a National Park, witnessing local communities’ work to restore and protect the environment, as well as planting a tree in Samoa’s Botanical Garden. The Queen, meanwhile, will visit an aoga faifeau, a traditional Samoan Pastor’s School.
Were I in charge of their itinerary (or that of any tourist visiting Samoa, to be honest), I’d suggest they also make a trip to Vailima, Robert Louis Stevenson’s beautiful colonial-style house, and to the Cultural Village to discover the traditional style of cooking in an underground oven (umu) or the origins of the tattoo, a Polynesian invention.
Most Samoan attractions, though, are natural ones and so should appeal to the King. The main island of Upolu is the most lush and tropical of landscapes – mountainous, green and full of waterfalls that cascade into forest pools and a mysterious underground channel through which you can swim out to the sea. 
Upolu is not, though, the biggest island. This is Savai’i, though it has less than a third of Upolu’s population. It’s a place full of natural wonders – vast lava fields on the north coast, spectacular blowholes in the southwest where, at high tide, the water shoots up to 30 metres into the air.
The tiny car-less island of Manono is reached on a local fisherman’s boat and you can swim with the turtles right off the beach. Nu’utele was once a leper colony and is now the best place for diving. Perhaps not the King’s cup of tea, but Samoa is one of the best places to surf on the planet.
Suffice to say, I think the King and Queen will rather like Samoa.
They may even, I suspect, find its simplicity and serenity difficult to leave behind. I certainly did.
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