Encounter with Da Craterman – world famous in Samoa”

Encounter with Da Craterman – world famous in Samoa”

The day started badly. Our taxi was 30 minutes late, which isn't too bad considering we were on island time, but we were keen to beat the midday sun on our six-hour round trip to Mount Matavanu Crater. Nevertheless, we cheerfully greeted our driver who dropped us off at the base of the crater.

We started off at a decent pace, our sturdy hiking boots serving us well. After an hour, however, we realized we had been foolishly complacent: with only a bottle of water, already half-drunk, we would struggle to stay hydrated.

Whatever, we thought. Let's move on. At about 6km we stopped to check our progress. There were still 2km to go, which seemed easy at the time. In London I could walk this in about 12 minutes - I'm sure we'd reach the crater within half an hour.

Oh, how wrong we were. The 30 degree heat was now in full force and hit us relentlessly. I had to stop and rest every few minutes, feeling dizzy and lightheaded. Sometimes I actually felt weak - I had never felt so hot in my life.

When we finally reached climax an hour later, I lay on the floor for a full five minutes before pulling myself up. “That’s great,” I said, still panting, “but I’m not sure it was worth it.” “It was worth it,” said Peter, positioning his SLR camera.

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The Matavanu crater is half a mile in circumference and 200 m deep. Its most recent eruptions occurred from 1905 to 1911, flowing over 40 square miles and destroying scores of villages in its path. In some areas the depth of the lava flow was up to 400 feet! It is said that Matavanu will explode again sometime in the middle of this century, certainly devastating if or when it does.

We spent half an hour on the edge of the crater, careful not to get too close to the dizzying abyss. The view was impressive, but surprisingly not the highlight of our hike – no, that would be Da Craterman, the larger-than-life character responsible for maintaining the path to the crater.

Da Craterman lives in a dilapidated hut halfway up the volcano. He drinks rainwater, which he stores in a large cylinder, and spends most of his time alone - and yet he is one of the most sociable people we have met along the way.

He told us that he never left Savai'i but felt no regret because the world had come to him. He waved his red book in which he meticulously records the names and origins of all visitors to the crater. He proudly told us that he had visitors from 133 countries (including Madagascar, Congo and Iraq!).

When I told him that my family was from Bangladesh, he searched through his book - twice - before gleefully declaring me the first Bangladeshi to climb the crater. (I don't have a Bangladeshi passport, but we decided my heritage counts.)

Da Craterman realizes that Kia is his first visitor from Bangladesh

We said our goodbyes and continued our descent, almost fainting as we went. I'm not going to lie: there are a few tears of exhaustion towards the end.

As luck would have it, three medical students had visited the crater that morning and were driving down the trail. We stopped her, desperate for a break. They moved their car to make room for us and handed us large containers of water, which we gratefully drank. As I sat back, I wondered when the last time Da Craterman felt the cool breeze of an air conditioner or had enough water to waste by spilling it. It was probably months, if not years. Funny – he seemed happier than me or my London friends.

Mission statement: Atlas & Boots

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