Robert and Sandra Senderson are no strangers to Samoa. 

The couple are originally from Scotland however they have been living in New Zealand for the past nine years.

Mrs. Senderson told the Dear Tourist that prior to moving to New Zealand, she had never heard about this small island.

As for her husband, Mr. Senderson he said he had known about Samoa through his school geography classes.

But while Mrs Senderson may not have heard of Samoa until late in life, the couple has made up for it by visiting frequently. 

“This is not our first time here. As a matter of fact this is our third time visiting beautiful Samoa,” said Mrs. Senderson.

“I’m a nurse in West Auckland and a lot of Samoan families come over to West Auckland for medical treatment,” she said.

“We always come to Samoa for our holidays because we just want to escape from the cold winter of New Zealand and also it’s because it’s a short break and Samoa is the best place to come at this time.

“It’s a beautiful island and the people are just lovely as well. We love the culture and the fact that we can relax for five nights and besides this is our main holiday; we won’t be able to go on another one -  this is it.”

The couple is staying at the Sheraton Hotel at Vaisigano and we caught up with them as they were walking on Beach Road making their way down to the flea market.

“The last time we came to visit we were on the other side of the island and we were just stuck there as we stayed at the Seabreeze Resort,” said Mr. Senderson.

“We didn’t have a car at that time until our last couple of days but this time we are hoping to see more.”

The couple said they want to visit more places while they are staying in Apia.

“We want to go to the R.L.S.S. Museum and we want to hire a car for a day and go around the island,” said Mr. Senderson.

“We also want to go see some waterfalls and some of the swimming ponds and also we just like the fact that we can just walk into Apia.

“Today we will be going to the flea market and also the fish market to meet some local people.

“We would love to visit Savaii but we feel that with just five days in the island, we don’t have enough time so maybe next time when we get to come back.

“When we go back we will definitely let all our families and relatives know about Samoa because this is the kind of place that we want to escape to from all the hassles back home and most especially the winter.”