In fact, most of their homes and regional public buildings don't have doors. Many of the homes in the rural areas are modest by our standards, but the lack of doors and has little to do with poverty.

The structure of the homes is partly defined by climate but, more importantly, by attitude and culture. Most of what they have can't be bought with money – a strong sense of community, family dedication, faith and cultural pride.

The people have not succumbed to hard-sell tourism – smiles are freely given and are warm.

It's not a shopper's paradise. There are hand-crafted trinkets, carved wooden souvenirs and colourful print fabrics imbued with vivid flowers which grow on this small but abundant handful of tropical islands.

Samoa consists of 10 small, volcanic islands, four uninhabited, east of the international date line, 2890km from Auckland.

Yes, there is a McDonald's restaurant in the capital, but only one, and city workers contend with only a few sets of traffic lights.

Fruit and vegetables grow well in the rich volcanic soil. Bananas, taro, coconuts, pineapples and mangoes are plentiful.

The surrounding seas are not fished out and the lagoons and protective coral reefs still provide a bounty of seafood.

On balmy tropical evenings, the village lawns are filled with children chasing everything from balls to empty plastic containers in the pursuit of the national passion, rugby.

Big-built mothers and young women in colourful floral dresses watch and laugh as they chat among themselves.

Young men play more serious rugby. Many wear the intricate tattoos of their culture – full-body ink art called pe'a, which covers all of their lower torso.

It's a proudly displayed sign of their "coming of age", not lost on the dark-haired girls.

There is at least one church, and sometimes four, in each of the country's 360-plus villages. English is widely spoken.

With a population of 180,000, the country is governed by a parliament based on the Westminster system, but provincial administration and many local matters are left in the hands of the matai, or chiefs. There are more than 18,000 of them.

In our part of the world, where many small countries – East Timor, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga – are commonly troubled by political upheaval and social uncertainty, Samoa's successful blend of religion, indigenous law and introduced politics seems rare but, more importantly, it seems to work. Since the tiny nation gained independence in 1962, there has never been a coup.

In mid-May, the people mourned the death of King Malietoa Tanumafili II at the age of 94. The world's third-longest-serving head of state after the King of Thailand and Queen Elizabeth II, he held the post for 44 years. After debate in Parliament and among the matai, the new head of state, Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi, was sworn in less than a month later.

This nation has no army or navy. Its 450-strong police force keeps law and order. And the people and their matai are mindful of the rocky social and political road taken by many neighbours.

There are problems with unemployment and disaffected youth, but there is also great respect for culture and tradition.

There is hope that the need to feed tourists with local produce will help maintain rural village life.

The villages are generally tidy, the beaches clean and, in most cases, pristine.

On the island of Upolu, waterfalls tumble over high drops of volcanic rock. The water is filtered through the black basalt to re-emerge as bubbling springs on the coast. With no mining and little agriculture or grazing carried out on rugged mountainsides, the run-off water is crystal-clear and sweet. You can swim in it.

It takes 90 minutes to cross Apolima Strait between Upolu and Savai'i islands on the blue-painted ferry. Inter-island truck drivers "sleep away" the crossing in the shade of their trucks.

The "big island" of Savai'i offers a variety of natural pleasures, not the least an even more laid-back lifestyle than on nearby Upolu. Passing more than a couple of cars on the road that rings the island constitutes "rush hour".

Children wave as visitors drive past the coastal villages on the right-hand side of the road, a legacy of brief colonial rule by Germany in the early 1900s.

It takes about five hours to circle the island by car – a great day-trip on which you can swim with sea turtles at Satoalepai, explore the desolate Saleaula lava fields and climb to the top of a tropical rainforest at the Falealupo canopy walk.

You can watch an old man drop a coconut husk into the Taga blowhole so it can be hurtled 30m by the next surging wave – for a small fee, of course.

Outsiders might look upon this tiny country and call it some kind of "paradise".

The locals are content to live Fa'a Samoa – "the Samoan Way".

The writer was a guest of Adventure World and the Samoan Tourism Authority.

Sunday Mail (QLD)

Fly: Air New Zealand (132 476) has flights from Brisbane to Apia, via Auckland, from $778 plus taxes and service fees. Search for the best deals in flights and hotels

Package: Adventure World seven-night pack for Sinalei Reef Resort and Spa from $1854pp twin share, including Air New Zealand air fare, breakfasts and transfers. Phone 1300 363 055.

More: www.visitsamoa.ws