Samoa Birding Tours
The Independent State of Samoa (“Samoa” hereafter) was, until 1997, known as Western Samoa. It is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai’i and Upolu) as well as several smaller inhabited and uninhabited islands. Located in the South Pacific, Samoa is about halfway between the US state of Hawaii, 2,485 miles (4,000 kilometers) to the north and New Zealand, 1,555 miles (2,500 kilometers) to the south. In addition, Australia is located 2,175 miles (3,500 kilometers) to the west of Samoa, with the Fiji archipelago approximately 320 miles (800 kilometers) in the same direction. To the west of Samoa, after approximately 5,600 miles (9,000 kilometers) the continent of South America and the country of Peru are reached.
The Lapita people discovered and settled on the Samoan islands (which includes American Samoa – an unincorporated territory of the United States) about 3,500 years ago where they developed a Samoan language and cultural identity. Jacob Roggeveen, a Dutchman, was the first European to sight the Samoan islands in 1722, followed by the French admiral and explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1768, who named the Samoan islands the Navigator Islands (due to the seafaring skills of the native people). Bougainville Island of Papua New Guinea, as well as the Bougainvillea flower are also named after this famous Frenchman. Samoa was part of the German Empire from 1899 until 1915, Samoa was then a joint British and New Zealand colonial administration, with the country gaining independence in 1962.
Samoa lies just south of the equator and therefore has an equatorial climate with year-round hot temperatures. The two large islands (Upolu and Savai’i) account for 99% of the total Samoan land area, which is 1,097 square miles (2,842 square kilometers). Apia is the largest city and is also the capital and is found on the island of Upolu. As with many other islands in the South Pacific Ocean, Samoa is of volcanic origin, though only Savai’i, the largest and westernmost of the Samoan islands remains active today. Mount Silisili at 6,096 feet (1,858 meters) is the highest peak in Samoa.