Saua Site

Saua lies on the eastern shore of Ta'u, and in Samoan tradition it is where the god Tagaloa created the first people and from where the settlement of the wider Pacific began, which makes it a site of primary significance across Polynesia rather than only in Samoa. There is nothing built there: a shore of rock and sand, a stream, and the sea. The area falls within the national park and is reached on a track.

What you actually see

• The shore - the rock and sand the tradition attaches to, with nothing built on it.
• The origin tradition - the account of Tagaloa and the first people.
• The wider significance - a site referenced across Polynesian tradition.
• The park setting - the coast within the national park's Ta'u unit.

When to go

May to September is the drier season. The track can be overgrown. Sundays are strictly observed on the island.

Honest expectations

There is nothing to see in the ordinary sense; the significance is entirely traditional. The track is rough and sometimes overgrown. Village protocol and permission matter.

Nearby

Lata Mountain is west, and the Ta'u villages are north.