Mulifanua is a village on the north-western tip of the island of

Upolu Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approximate ...

, in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

. In the modern era, it is the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

Aiga-i-le-Tai Aiga-i-le-Tai is a districts of Samoa, district of Samoa which includes the small islands of Manono Island, Manono, Apolima and tiny uninhabited Nu'ulopa lying in the Apolima Strait between the country's two main islands of Upolu and Savai'i. The ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

. Mulifanua wharf is the main ferry terminal for inter-island vehicle and passenger travel across the Apolima Strait between Upolu and the island of Savai'i.

Ferry terminal

The ferry terminal at Mulifanua wharf is five minutes west of Faleolo International Airport. The government's Samoa Shipping Corporation operates the ferry service, seven days a week, between Mulifanua and

Salelologa Salelologa () is a village district at the east end of Savai'i island in Samoa. It is the main entry point into the island with the only ferry terminal on Savai'i. It also serves as the main township for shopping and public amenities with a marke ...

at the east end of Savai'i island. A one-way trip between the two islands takes about 90 minutes. The ferry usually runs every two hours during the day. There are several small shops selling snacks, and there are always buses and taxis available at the terminal for departures and arrivals.

Archaeology

In 1973, archaeology in Samoa uncovered a

Lapita The Lapita culture is the name given to a Neolithic Austronesian people and their distinct material culture, who settled Island Melanesia via a seaborne migration at around 1600 to 500 BCE. The Lapita people are believed to have originated fro ...

site at Mulifanua where 4,288 pottery sherds and two Lapita type adzes have been recovered. The site has a true age of circa 3,000 BP based on C14 dating on a shell. This is the only site in Samoa where decorated Lapita sherds have been found, although pieces of Polynesian plainware ceramics are commonly found throughout the Samoan islands.Temper sands in prehistoric Oceanian pottery: geotectonics, sedimentology, petrography, provenance
by William R. Dickinson, p.34.Retrieved 2 November 2009 The submerged site was discovered during work carried out to expand the inter-island ferry berth at Mulifanua.

2007 South Pacific Games

'' Aggie Grey’s Resort and Spa'' at Mulifanua and Faleolo was the venue for the

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

and va'a (outrigger canoeing) events at the 2007 South Pacific Games.

References

External links

Mulifanua
at the official site to the 2007 Pacific Games Populated places in Aiga-i-le-Tai Underwater ruins Archaeological sites in Samoa Populated places established in the 10th century BC {{Oceania-sports-venue-stub