The weather has not been kind to visiting Kiwis Tiana Burne and Kellee Vendt.

But they will not let that stand in the way of their only opportunity to see more of Samoa before they return to New Zealand after five days.

Burne and Vendt have heard a lot about the islands over the years, through classmates, business friends and Samoan work colleagues of a family member.

"I heard about Samoa through my classmates and also my Dad has a scuba diving business here and I've always wanted to come here," says Burne.

Vendt said she heard about the island through her partner, who has colleagues with Samoan heritage, who are the sources of many island tales.

"So far we haven't been doing so much since we got here because we don't know what to do in this kind of weather, but we wanted to go to the Tosua trench before we head back home," the two best friends said.

When they arrived in Samoa, a visit to the Samoa Tourism Authority’s tourism fale was recommended, in order to see the tatau ceremony as well as cultural practices. 

The New Zealand visitors said they are keen to see the traditional tattooist at work. 

"We've always wanted to see it and how it's done so we are hoping to get a chance to see it before our departure," they said with a smile. 

They are also keen to watch a siva afi performance as they've only seen the videos that are posted on social media.

"Such a beautiful country to be in and those fire dancing things, we really wanna see one before we leave," added Vendt.

The Kiwis are currently staying at the Taumeasina Island Resort and have described their stay as eventual with very helpful resort staff.