American Samoa National Park

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What do you know about Samoa? When we were in Hawaii a few years ago, we visited the Polynesian Cultural Center, operated by the Mormon Church. This center basically consists of various mock villages that depict several islands in the Pacific Ocean. One of the islands was Samoa and after visiting the center, I wanted to know more about this particular island, because the American Samoa National Park is part of the U.S. national park system. However, it is owned and controlled by the people of Samoa. American Samoa is a U.S. territory, although it is far out in the South Pacific Ocean, about 2300 miles southwest of Hawaii. This territory is administered by the Secretary of the Interior and covers more than 8500 acres on the two islands (Tutulia and Ta’u) and the coral reefs surrounding the islands. Dense rain forests exist there, due to the almost 300 inches of rain that falls each year. There is also a huge variety of plants and wildlife. These forests are home to flying foxes, which are huge fruit bats, with four-foot wingspans. There are beautiful white sand beaches, colorful coral reefs and volcanic peaks in this unique park. Many bird species, including boobies, frigate birds and terns live on the cliffs. There are also many brightly colored tropical fish, which delight the snorkelers who swim in the reefs. I have never been to Samoa, but would like to go someday. There is a prehistoric village there and a pre-Christian temple. Most of the Samoans live in traditional ways all through the park. Have you ever been to Samoa?