Robert Louis Stevenson, the well known Scottish author (known as Tusitala in Samoa), found Samoa to his liking while traveling around the islands of the Pacific. He ended up living there for the last five years of his life. Stevenson and his wife Fanny built a large home and plantation up on the slopes of Mt Vaea....about 5 km above the main town of Apia.
100 years after his death the home of RLS was turned into a museum with a small paid entrance fee. The surrounding land is now a free access National Reserve and includes a botanical park and a forest hike up to his grave on the mountain. I was pleased to revisit the house this past month and to explore the gardens. My old knees prevented me climbing up to his grave to pay my respects and see the view but I really enjoyed wondering along the lower paths through the forest from the house and carpark. There is even a little pool in the stream where you can have a cooling swim after your hike.
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| Front entrance to house. |
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| The driveway up to the house. |
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| The house. |
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A silver pseuderanthemum..my
first time seeing one. |
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| The cookhouse? out back. |
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| In the lower forest area. |
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| Lower forest walkway to house. |
Aloha
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