Wandering through the narrow maze of stalls in the Savalalo markets is a lot like stepping into an airless sauna with no reprieve.

Without the distraction of some of the many beautiful crafts there, you might find yourself heading straight for the exit.  

So of course, the Sunday Samoan couldn’t help but notice that Martin from New Zealand had the perfect solution to combat the muggy ambience of the market so that his family could shop more comfortably. 

Trailing after his son Ethan and his wife Carol (who was cradling their newborn Leah), Martin was armed with a hand fan and was furiously fanning the air around his family to keep them cool.

We followed them for a good two minutes hoping to benefit from some of that manual air conditioning before we caught up to the lovely family. 

 “We arrived on Monday night and we are staying over in Le Uaina Resort,” said Martin.

 “It’s very, very nice. We’ve been to Fiji twice and Rarotonga and we thought we would try something new. We’re having a little day adventure today. Ben our driver is out there somewhere waiting for us. He’s going to take us to the museum and to the cathedral and somewhere nice for lunch.”

Having a newborn baby didn’t stop the family from travelling and when they decided on a destination for a quick getaway, travelling time was a factor in their decision.

“Especially since we’ve got a little baby with us, we thought beforehand that if we were going to come, we can stay home a bit longer or come on a little holiday for a few days and it’s such a short trip from New Zealand – it’s so easy to do.”

The family has only been in Samoa for three days but they already have a favorite swimming spot. 

“The Piula cave pool is really cool. Swimming with the fishes, we’ve been three times already and we’ve only been here two and a half days and we’ve already had like 3-4 swims in there so yeah we are having a great time,” said Martin. 

The heat was somehow of a challenge as their baby Leah needed to keep cool but the couple worked around it and continued to enjoy their travel experience.

“We went over to the ocean trench yesterday. We’ve been taking little short excursions before heading back to air conditioning where it’s cool and she needs to be kept cool. It’s definitely a lot more humid than Fiji but you kind of get used to it, I don’t mind the rain here that’s for sure, it cools everything down.”

Having a wee one means their holiday has been centered on their baby and so it was important to the couple that they brought their family to a place that was family friendly and they were very pleased that the accommodation they chose was the right fit.

“We will definitely come back,” said Carol and, “I think we will wait till Leah is a little bit older and then she will be able to deal with the heat better but we will definitely come back and to the same resort too. It’s been wonderful there because its family friendly and quiet.”

Martin agreed, “Oh yeah definitely family friendly there and people who had other children played with our little boy and they did a bit of snorkeling, bit of paddle boarding together.”