Samoa: Our Tropical Wave Rich Neighbours
ATOLL TRAVEL | Sponsored Gallery
Words by Tim Baxter
Photos by Tom Sinclair & Andrew Fonga
Location, Aganoa Lodge Samoa
The start of another year in one of Australia’s all-too-accessible tropical neighbours has been brimming with surf options that have catered for everyone from your "barrel frothing charger" to your “relax I’m on holiday” cruiser and all in between.
Think family fun, calm conditions, plenty of options and no crowds. Think Samoa in February. This is such a gem of a time in the year because it provides a range of options for waves with various swell directions hitting our reefs. Size ranges from 2 to 6ft and winds are typically light. The island that "Aganoa Lodge Samoa" is on, Savai’i, is beautifully rural and after being here for two years I can certainly say it's uncommon to run into other surfers at any break. Any time Hawaii gets a swell, we get it from the North three days later. Any activity in the South, we will see it days later. That's the best part of being in the South Pacific Ocean.
SEE ALSO: Melting Moments In The Maldives
Samoa is generally associated with heaving, steep barrels - which you’ll find if that's what you're after. However, if you know where to look this isn’t always the case, especially from November to May. Picture an easy takeoff, peeling right-hand point break reminiscent of The Gold Coast’s Snapper Rocks, only the circus hasn’t arrived in town yet and won’t for a long time. Or a mid-sized A-frame only a fifty-meter paddle after entering the 26-degree water. Bowling Barrels? Long Lefts? All of these are sights we’ve seen this February.
Thanks to all the crew who have shared the good times with us this year so far at Aganoa Lodge Samoa and for those yet to make the trip we look forward to sharing the amazing culture, hospitality and waves with you.
You can visit Samoa for yourself, find out more here.
Where Is Samoa?
Gallery: Samoa – November 2014
Sunny days, offshore winds, no crowds and fresh swells in November? Welcome to Samoa…
Watch: Episode 8 of Rivals – Danny Wills at Home on the NSW North Coast
We're loving this home grown surf show!
Watch: Episode 7 of Rivals – Bede Durbidge at Home in 4-5ft Straddie Barrels
Smashed In Vicco: A Couple Of The Lockdown State’s Finest Get Caught In The Mangler
Master and Apprentice: Bethany Hamilton and Erin Brooks
Mick Fanning: Save This Shark
Watch: Episode 8 of Rivals – Danny Wills at Home on the NSW North Coast
We're loving this home grown surf show!
Watch: Episode 7 of Rivals – Bede Durbidge at Home in 4-5ft Straddie Barrels
The best surf tv show format keeps on rolling!
Smashed In Vicco: A Couple Of The Lockdown State’s Finest Get Caught In The Mangler
For a good chunk of this winter, it seemed like the Vicco crew had become the poor cousins of the surfing world...
Master and Apprentice: Bethany Hamilton and Erin Brooks
When Erin Brooks was nine and at the very beginning of her surfing journey, she met Bethany Hamilton.
Mick Fanning: Save This Shark
This is Mick Fanning’s take on that crazy incident at J-Bay in 2015 - the most watched moment in surfing history.
The Social Visa: Wondering How All These Surf Stars Are Cruising Around Indo? Here Ya Go
Remember when all this carnage started in March? And how briefly it looked like a whole Indo surf season would be going untravelled?
Watch: Episode 7 of Rivals – Bede Durbidge at Home in 4-5ft Straddie Barrels
The best surf tv show format keeps on rolling!
Forecaster Blog: La Niña conditions are here, what does it mean for Surf?
La Nina conditions continue to develop. Will the surf pump?
Smashed In Vicco: A Couple Of The Lockdown State’s Finest Get Caught In The Mangler
For a good chunk of this winter, it seemed like the Vicco crew had become the poor cousins of the surfing world...
Padang Comes to Life as Late Season Swell hits Bali
Golden hour at perfect Padang Padang - it's been a good week to be in Bali... Photo: Childs
