A enjoyable, if muddy, slippery and very overgrown ~7.5km return hike to the largest lake in Samoa. It starts 30-40 mins drive from downtown Apia, off the Cross Island Road, up in the hills. Here is 7C cooler than by the coast, and considerably cloudier and wetter.

There is a car park but it is inaccessible unless you have a decent 4WD, with the road getting progressively worse off Cross Island Road. I drove as far as I felt comfortable, thankfully stopping before this particularly rough section, and walked the rest of the way.

There isn’t really a car park anyway, just well worn sign noting the national park, one of three in Samoa.

There isn’t a marked track so ensure you have an offline map, the route is marked on STRAVA and Google Maps. It starts basically straight from the sign, passing these incredibly colourful eucalyptus trees, unlike any I’ve seen.

The first sign of some semblance of a track is between these colourful plants.

If you like slippery mud and overgrown tracks that require careful footwork this is the hike for you!

There are a few benches along the way, though they’ve all seen better days.

Some parts are relatively clear and straightforward, others less so.

Finally I reach a view of the lake.

But the most challenging section of ‘track’ was descending from here down to the lake shore, steep, slippery and completely overgrown. I had very wet shoes by the end of it.

It was worth the effort though for lakeside views, though again the platform could do with some maintenance. There were also a few small leeches removed as fast as I saw them.

I returned the way I came, which felt considerably easier. The lake is in the crater of a volcano, so most of the return was gradually downhill.

The plant life was quite incredible on this hike, and by the end the sun briefly appeared!