National Park of American Samoa
Last, but absolutely not least, National Park of American Samoa. I genuinely struggle to pick which National Park I liked more, National Park of American Samoa or Haleakalā National Park (sorry Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, you're great too).
Let's get the obvious "bad" out the way, yes, getting to the National Park of American Samoa and visiting not just the main island but the Manu'a Islands as well was ✨️EXPENSIVE ✨️ It's unfortunate, but it's an important aspect to consider when planning to visit this National Park. Speaking of planning, you need to plan, MONTHS in advance, especially if you plan on visiting the Manu'a Islands in particular because lodging is EXTREMELY limited. You also need to consider adding buffer days and great flexibility to your itinerary as bad weather can delay or cancel flights to the Manu'a Islands or boat rides between the islands. Luckily that didn't happen to me, but I have been told about it by other travelers. Also, while I didn't encounter any aggressive stray dogs on any of the islands, there are MANY strays on the streets, especially on the main island. I always carried my personal umbrella with me in case one approached me a little too aggressively, as it gave me a safe way to keep them a distance away from me without injuring the dog and provoking them further. All done? Cool.
I LOVED this National Park!!! But more than the National Park itself, I loved the community. Prepare for lots of stories!
Even before I landed in American Samoa, the person who sat next to me on the plane, a local man who was a church leader, Father Paul, offered to take me to the hotel I was staying at. I ended up seeing him and is family again before I flew to the island of Tau.
At Tau, the Fitiuta Lodge owners, Mr. Ape (I had trouble pronouncing his name correctly so he insisted I called him Ape so I called him Mr. Ape to be respectful) and his eldest daughter, Ms. Lani were very kind and helpful. Mr. Ape was the one who arranged my boat transportation to Ofu Island with one of the local fisherman and Ms. Lani cooked a delicious breakfast when I woke up in the mornings.
Once I got to Ofu Island with the help of the boat captain and his son, I asked a friendly local construction worker where the trailhead for Tumu Mountain was, he showed me the trailhead, but out of concern that I would be hiking alone insisted on a shortcut that would save me some time. Mr. Wayne, drove me to the shortcut with instructions to go up and turn right, where I would see a trail marker. He wished me luck and I headed up! ....Only for me to run into some trouble due to the trail having overgrown vegetation, fallen trees and SPIDERS! So I made the wise decision to head back down and head to the local lodge on the island for further guidance.
While walking down the road, a kind woman pulled up next me and asked if I was part of the group of tourists who flew in this morning. I told her no, that I arrived here via boat from Taʻū Island just about an hour ago. She asked if I would like a ride to the lodge to which I eagerly accepted! Ms. Pale (pronounced Polly) asked what my plan was for today to which I informed her I planned on hiking Tumu Mountain, but due to the state of the trail I was headed to the lodge for help.
When we arrived, the lodge was empty so she called the owner who told us he was on the other side and to give him a minute to walk over. When he did, he gave me my stamp for my Passport to your National Parks book and a map. He told me all the other tourists were hiking a different trail to a local abandoned town across the bridge on Olosega Island.
When I told Ms.Pale she called her husband and turns out it was the boat captain! Haha, small world! She said she would have one of her sons guide me up the mountain, out of concern for my safety, which I sincerely appreciated! We drove across the bridge to her home on Olosega Island to pick up her son and made a quick stop by the construction site for her son to pick up a machete. Afterwards she dropped us both off at the shortcut that Mr.Wayne took me to earlier.
With Ms. Pale's 27 year old son, Martin, we hiked up the mountain, him in front, cutting out a path through the thicker, overgrown parts of the trail. After walking in stifling humidity, over muddy and slippery inclines, and slipping and falling a few times, we finally reached the end! Where we enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL AND BREATHTAKING view of the three islands that make up the Manu'a Islands! After plenty of photos for myself and of Martin to show Ms. Pale, we headed back down. Right before we finished, he said a prayer, where I politely joined in, as he thanked the lord for our safe passage on the trail.
At the bottom we actually ran into Mr.Wayne and two of his coworkers! He was relieved to know I had a local guide in Martin to safely get me to the top and back down and was proud I made it. He said not many people are willing to do that hike, even some locals live here their whole lives and never make the trip.
We waited at the construction site, where Ms.Shirly and her husband got fresh cold water for the both us to enjoy. She was also impressed that I was traveling by myself, but she reassured me that all of the islanders are kind people who help everyone and that I was in good hands today.
Ms. Shirley led us to Ms.Pale's truck when she arrived to take us back to her husband, the boat captain, at the docks at exactly 5PM as we agreed upon when I first arrived. I thanked Ms.Pale again with a good hug and we exchanged numbers so that I could send her the photos of her son Martin later when I get back to the lodge on Taʻū Island.
Her son Martin actually switched places with her other son from earlier so Martin accompanied me, along with his father the boat captain, back to Taʻū Island where Mr.Ape was waiting for me. I thanked and hugged the boat captain before stepping off the boat, appreciative for him safely getting me between islands and to his family for helping me make the hike possible. He said he looks forward to the day I come back with my family and that he'll be ready to sail us across the ocean as needed. We waved goodbye as they headed back to Ofu Island, before Mr.Ape and I got back in his truck and made our way back to lodge. At lodge, Ms.Lani asked about my trip to which I excitedly recounted her my day as my cup noodles heated up. She too was glad I had a good time and got back safely.
After flying back to the main island I decided to go on more hikes with the last one being the hike to the summit of Mount 'Alava. It was 4PM when I started, so if it says it takes 2 hours to reach the top, I knew it would be night when I headed down. I hiked in the dark before and was okay with that. But before I started, a group of four young men were hanging out just outside the trailhead. I asked them if this was in fact the trail to Mount 'Alava which they confirmed and even told me to park my rental car in front of the gate so it wouldn't interfere with the flow of traffic on the side of the road. There weren't other people that I saw doing this hike today, no one coming down as I went up, no one at the top and half way down no one coming up. UNTIL! In the PITCH BLACK darkness. A group of lights shined upwards. I was conflicted, like yaay, people! But also, WHO ON EARTH WOULD HIKE UP THIS TRAIL AT NIGHT??? And the voices sounded like men...I hesitantly yelled out hello and asked if they were hiking up the mountain to which they say nothing in English, but say something amongst themselves in Samoan. A lump forms in my throat and a wave of dread washes over me. I try again, "Wow, your flashlights are way brighter than my phone's flash light, that's so great!" Some of them turn their lights off as I walk closer. I slow down almost to a full stop. Horrible silence for a few seconds until one them, a shirtless man in sandals steps forward and smiles warmly at me, "We found you!"
It was the guys from earlier! They were concerned about me since it had gotten dark and my car was still outside the trailhead. They had called the police and search & rescue, and instead of waiting for them to show up, they had started walking up the trail looking for some sign of me. I dont know how I kept my composure, because on the inside I wanted to cry. They walked with me back down, laughing, making jokes and relieved thay I was okay. When we got to the trailhead, sure enough, my rental car was flanked by cops on one side and search and rescue on the other. No one was mad. The police was relieved to see I was okay and didn't need medical help. Seach and rescue guys stood on the side just in case anything was wrong. I hugged the cop lady, with her permission, and shed a single tear as I told her how nice and caring everyone in American Samoa has been to me. It wasn't much, but I gave each of the four guys $20 each, along with a firm handshake and my sincerest sounding thanks for caring so much about me. I also thanked the police and search and rescue team.
The National Park of American Samoa wasn't just beautiful with scenic overlooks, filled with challenging but rewarding hikes and rich with historical and cultural significance, it was also memorable because of the tight knit community with kind individuals who genuinely cared about not just each other but the visitors to their home.
Highlight? The people. 🥰🥰🥰