The Alofaaga Blowholes

Lava tubes that fire the sea straight up out of the ground

The Alofaaga Blowholes, also called the Taga Blowholes, line the south-west coast of Savai'i in Samoa, in the Palauli district south-west of the ferry wharf at Salelologa. Old lava flows here have left a flat clifftop of lava rock riddled with tubes that run down to the ocean. Every time a wave breaks against the seaward end of a tube, the water is driven up through it under great pressure and bursts out of the rock above in a roaring spout, often 20 metres high and sometimes far higher, each blast punctuated by a loud puff of air. The show repeats every few seconds and is at its most spectacular at high tide.

The village of Taga owns the land. Like most land in Samoa, it is under customary ownership, held by the community and run under its authority, so the way in is through the village and visitors pay a small fee at the entrance, with a separate charge for the car park and the fale on site. For another small fee, local men will toss a coconut into a vent just before a big surge, and the nut rockets up even higher than the water, easily 100 feet.

The blowholes have a quieter neighbour with a deeper story. Pa Sopo'ia Cave, nearby, is believed to be an ancient pathway along which the spirits of the ancestors travel to Cape Mulinu'u, the last meeting place before they enter Pulotu, the Samoan spirit world. The local matai, the chiefs, can show the way.

From the blowholes a track follows the coast west to the old village of Fagaloa. The lava shelf around the vents is unfenced, wet and slippery, and a fall into one of the holes would almost certainly be fatal, so the spray is best enjoyed from a respectful distance, which still means getting soaked.