When I was working in New Zealand I went on a week holiday to Samoa. I had always wanted to go to Samoa as I had previously worked in Fiji and Tonga and I had heard good things about Samoa.

I arrived into Apia airport late at night after leaving Auckland. Samoa is the last country to the date line so I technically gained a day when I went from Auckland to Samoa and lost one when I came back.

I spent my first night in Apia in a backpackers and spent the day exploring Apia, snorkelling in Apia and heading to the sliding rocks just outside of Apia. The sliding rocks were similar to the ones in Thailand that I had been to and were just as fun. The sliding rocks were basically what they are called, you slide down a rock into a pool of water without trying to cut yourself or bang your head on the way down.

Apia itself is the capital of Samoa and is on the island of Upolu. There is not loads to do in Apia but I managed to have a look around the streets and try some local food of plantain (dried banana type food) and some meat chops which contained more fat than meat, no wonder the Samoans were so large.

The next day I jumped on a local bus which was rather interesting as they are all multi coloured with wooden benches inside which are not the most comfortable. After a few hours drive we arrived at Lalomanu beach which I heard is the best beach in Samoa, and they were not wrong. The beach was a stunning golden colour and the water was a beautiful blue. I got myself a beach hut with a matt on the floor which was very comfortable and nice in the evenings being able to hear the waves hit calmly on the beach.

I spent more time than I planned to at Lalomanu such was its beauty and relaxation factor. Whilst in Lalomanu myself and a German girl hired bikes and headed along the coast of the island to an ocean trench that we heard was worth visiting. When we got there after an hour of cycling we paid our money and went into the ocean trench. The ocean trench is a whole in the ground where water seeps into it from the ocean. To get down into the ocean trench which was about 30 meters you have to climb down a ladder and hope not to accidentally fall down it at the same time, because it was a long drop. The water in the ocean trench was really refreshing after cycling a long way and was a beautiful blue colour.

I left Lalomanu and headed for Mulfanua wharf to catch a ferry to Savii the other island of Samoa. Once I arrived in Savii I was luckily picked up by an Aussie couple who took me to Asaga resort where I got a beach hut which was right next to the water. I spent a night their before meeting a load of Aussie medics who were on their holiday as well.

The next day we got in their car and headed around the whole island. On the way we stopped at dwarfs cave which was basically just a cave but we got a guide all the same. We also went to Faleauupo which is the most westerly point in the whole world and stood at the end of the world. From their we headed around the rest of the island before they dropped me off at the ferry port to get the last ferry back to the main island to fly back off to Auckland.

Overall my week in Samoa was just what I needed and was very relaxing. The beaches were beautiful, great weather and the people were very friendly and it was not to touristy at all which was even better.