A book on hiking in Samoa has been published with its authors hoping their new publication will encourage people to explore more of the country's natural beauty. 

The 83-page book titled "Hiking Samoa Volume 1: Upolu & Mount Silisili, Savai'i" was published in December and was written by Ned Brown, James Atherton, Pepe Letoa and Charmina Saili. 

It is based on information and experiences collated by the four authors between 1996–2022 and has sections dedicated to danger and safety precautions, Samoa's geology, the country's ecology and biology, and the locations of the hikes on the islands of Upolu and Savai'i.

Mr. Atherton, one of the four authors and Samoa Conservation Society (S.C.S.) President, told the Samoa Observer on Saturday morning that the book was written by a group of friends who are advocates of Samoa's outdoors.

"The book was written by a few keen hikers to promote access to the great outdoors and to share our love of Samoa," Mr. Atherton said.

"We hope it will encourage people to explore more and to appreciate Samoa's natural beauty and therefore want to protect it.

"All profits will go to the conservation work of the Samoa Conservation Society."

In the introduction of the book, the authors gave readers insights on their own experiences, having hike numerous treks in the Samoa over a 26-year period.

They said hiking in Samoa "can be a fantastic experience" and described how a hiker can "plunge into the rainforest and feel as if you are the first human to visit."

"Though Samoans do a lot of walking, and have well-established networks of trails leading to their plantations or to adjacent villages, not a lot of hiking is done for pleasure, and so more scenically oriented trails are limited," stated the authors in the book's introduction. 

"Because the rainforest in Samoa is so lush, blazing a new trail through it can be a very slow and difficult process.

"However, there are still a number of walking trails available and there are also many streams that can be followed. Increasingly, new trails are being opened up as interest in nature-based tourism grows."

However, hiking in Samoa means "walking on someone else's land", consequently the authors gave the reader a rundown on the protocols that needed to be followed, if a hiker is to achieve their goal of hiking in lush forest of Samoa.

"Walking on someone else’s land without permission is rude, potentially dangerous and not advisable in any culture; Samoa is no exception.

"We give contact details for land owners wherever possible, but if you are not able to contact people mentioned in this guide, please ask the local people you meet for permission to walk on their land.

"Samoans are hospitable people and will rarely deny access, as long as permissions are sought and hikers are clearly only interested in the views and the exercise (and not in harvesting crops or plants, or hunting/fishing!) and are polite and respectful.

"Samoans are often willing to be guides as well, for an appropriate fee. It is appropriate to provide a small gift (meaalofa) for parking on someone’s property. 

"We recommend 20 tala per car per day. More information on permissions and land ownership is found in the following section."

On the location of the hikes, the authors wrote that the the book provides directions to the trailheads, location maps for each hike as well as elevation profiles and descriptions.

Several hikes have trails, or features along the way, that may be difficult to find, so we have provided GPS coordinates in the Annex," the section on the hikes' location reads.

"A GPS device or mapping app on your smartphone may come in handy for these. While locations of the hikes won’t change much over time, some of the details – such as trail conditions, time required, and local contacts – do change, and our information should only be used as rough references."

The authors also urged hikers to be sensitive to "cultural protocols and the environment".

"Enjoy these hikes, but please be conscious of cultural protocols and the environment through which you are hiking, so that landowners will be happy to host future hikers and others can enjoy the same experience you do. Take only photographs and leave only footprints!"

A future volume will cover other hikes in Savai'i. Sites covered in the Volume 1 book include, O le Pupu Pu’e National Park Pe'ape'a Cave, Sopoaga River 4 km one way, 3–5 hours roundtrip, V. Mount Vaivai 4 km one way, 6-8 hours round trip and several more. 

The four authors are also writing a pictorial guide to Samoa's natural heritage which Mr. Atherton revealed will be released shortly.

"We are also writing a pictorial guide to Samoa's natural heritage which will come out very soon both electronically and hard copy," he told this newspaper.