To Sua Ocean Trench & Fuipisia Waterfall

Last Saturday we went with the senior missionaries to the To Sua Ocean Trench.  When we drove around the island a few weeks ago we had decided to skip this.  We are SO glad that we went!! It was one of the most amazing experiences of our lives!  And so much more fun with the seniors!  To get down to the ladder you have to go down a path of rock steps.  Not too hard to do.  Next you hold onto two rails at the top and back down the ladder.  The rails are only for the first four feet. Before we left for Samoa we were undecided about doing this as we are both afraid of heights, but the ladder steps are solidly attached to two huge logs. You can step onto the platform (which can be covered at high tide) or continue down the steps to the water.  the pool is a huge lava tube in which the ocean can come into through another tube.  You can actually swim out into the ocean going underwater, but whoever does that is crazy!  There are ropes crossing the pool in a couple of directions to help you along as current comes and goes.  As you look at the picture below it shows the  pool.  There are caves in both directions, but the larger one (away from the ocean) you can swim in and there is a rope along there as well.  We just floated on our backs and looked up at the sky and trees and felt the waves pull us in both directions. So awesome!  We stayed in the water for a couple of hours then explored the rest of the area around it.

Here is what the coast looks like in that area.

Lava rocks all over.

Marc in a lava tube with the ocean behind him.

After exploring below, we headed up to eat lunch and then drove back to Apia around the eastern part of the island.  Brother McBride wanted to stop and show everyone one of his favorite waterfalls. Each village owns the land and you have to pay to go onto their land.  So to see this waterfall we each paid 8 tala (just a couple of U.S. dollars) and hiked through a swampy, muddy trail to get to the view of Fuipisia Waterfall.  This was so impressive to look at from a distance.

So then we walked along the path to get to the head of the falls.

This was as close as we wanted to get, but a few brave guys actually walked out onto that rock shown at the bottom of the picture.

O Le Pupu Pue Coastal Walk

The day after Cyclone Amos ended we decided to drive to the south side of the island and do a little hike.  We had heard about this coastal walk from tripadvisor.  So off we went!  As we drove over Cross Island road we saw a lot of banana trees down and a bunch of coconut trees as well.  We found the entrance to the park and had heard that if the gate wasn't open could call a number and someone could come and open it for us. Luckily for us it was open.

This is the road we drove down.  The guy in the orange shirt is using a machete to cut back the tall grass and plants and trees and whatever else was in his way.  That's the Samoan's favorite tool!! We followed along and passed the orange shirt guy and made it to the car park.

We were so happy that we didn't have to walk an hour to where the walk began.  Here is our first view from the path.

What the coast looks like there.  This part of the island has no beach, but tall cliffs that the waves crash up on.

Looking down the cliff at the ocean waves.

The tree that Marc is leaning up against is a Fasa tree.  The roots grow above the ground to help support the tree.  They grow all over the place in this area.

Some coast pictures.

There were a few little islands just a little bit away from the land and the waves come crashing through the tunnels.  So impressive!

We love all the shades of blue in the waves here.

Here is a short video of the waves coming through that larger island.  Wish you were here!

Flower that closes

On our daily walk to school we accidentally came across this plant whose leaves close when touched. Here's a video:

Drive North to Russell

From Whangarei we did a day trip to the north to Russell. The scenery on the way was mostly lovely rolling hills like this:

This is what some of the coast looked like:

Near Russell we got out an walked on this boardwalk through the mangroves.

Here's a close-up of the mangroves:

Rusell is a small quaint little town and it was fun to walk around. Here's the harbor:

I had never seen a fig tree but here is one and it is huge. It was planted in the 1800's. 

 Here are some of the gnarly branches. The figs were ripe and a few fell on the sidewalk.

We took the ferry to a town across the bay and had dinner at a Thai restaurant. The next day it was off the the airport and back to Samoa.

Whangarei Falls

We stayed in a nice B&B in Whangarei (interestingly pronounced Fongaray). It was in the home of an older couple from the Netherlands who had moved first to Canada and the New Zealand years ago. They were a lot of fun to talk with. We took a nice walk near Whangarei Falls on the Hatea River.

Here's what the river looks like beyond the falls.

Another shot of the falls.

Here's the trail which was set up nicely.

NZ Beach

Raglan beach

After we left Hamilton Garden we drove west to the little beach town of Raglan.  It was a quiet afternoon and not many people were around.  We walked up and down the only main street and found a Greek shop to eat dinner, then headed to the beach to do some exploring.  This is Raglan!

The beach has black sand and was so beautiful!  This is near where we entered the beach.

There was a lot of pampas grass growing on the dunes.

Getting closer to sunset.

This was the perfect way to end our day!

Hamilton New Zealand Temple

Hamilton New Zealand Temple

The last morning we were in Hamilton we wanted to go to the temple.  The B&B we stayed at was only about five minutes away.  Perfect spot to stay.  The area around the temple looks like it used to be a church school or mtc.

The temple with the New Zealand flag.

Some of the temple grounds and more pictures from afar.  The temple was beautiful inside and it was so wonderful to be able to do some temple work there.