Hi to everyone again. Last time we left you we had just arrived at the island of Niue after a difficult sail. Arriving at Niue was a lovely experience. The seas died and the welcome of the radio from the islands 24 hour a day coastguard channel was warm and freindly.
We pulled up to the port of Alofi early in the morning having timed our arrival for first light. There is no anchorage here as the bay is deep and the bottom is coral and rock. However, Niue Yacht Club has installed 15 moorings for visiting yachts and we picked one of those up when we arrived and breathed a big sigh of relief!
We were called up on the radio an hour or so later where we were informed that customs would meet us at the dock to check us in to the country. So we headed out to the dock to meet them. Sure enough, a lovely woman met us in her car and offered us a lift to the customs office about 100m away! We have never had a welcome like this we thought?! 10 minutes later and a couple of forms filled in as well as the offer of chocolate orange biscuits we were checked in to the country!
And what a gem Niue is. We could only stay for one week until the swell in the anchorage meant we needed to leave. Its a difficult place for boats as the anchorage is open to the sea and there is very little shelter. However, in the week were there, we saw a lot and loved it! We hired a car for two days for the very reasonable price of £30 a day. We ate out pretty much everyday, simply because we could! Last time we had eaten out in a restaurant was back in Tahiti, almost two months ago!
So before we take you on a tour of this fascinating place, let me first tell you a few interesting facts.
Niue is one of the worlds smallest independent countries. Its independent but in the past was a protectorate of New Zealand. Its has a population of about 1000 people. As with other parts of the pacific, people have been steadily leaving over the last few decades and heading to places like New Zealand and Australia.
The geology of the island is really interesting. Niue is an old and inactive volcano that rose above the sea before it died. As its soft cone eroded by weather and waves, it also shrank as its core cooled. During this slow process, a coral reef formed on its top, the Mutalau Reef, named after the island’s present highest point. The reef kept up with the sinking rate of the volcano, laying down a coral cap of possibly 70 + 130m = 200m. The diagram below aims to visualise what happened.
So you have this fossilised reef that sticks out of the sea today up to 70m at its highest point. Because its in the tropics, the limestone weathers in to sharp razor edges by solution leaving fantastic landscape pitted with caves and chasms.
Right enough of that, lets take you on a tour to some of the places we visitied!
There are only a few roads on the island, and most of them are full of potholes apart from the ones that have been freshly tarmacked courtesy of China Aid (there were signs everywhere). We wonder what kind of deal the island had to do to get their hands on the that money?
First stop the scenic out look of Ana’ana Point, where you climb down some jagged rocks and look over the cliff edge at blowholes and the reef below
Our next stop along the south coast was at Matavai Scenic Resort, where we stopped for tea. A very pretty hotel full of Kiwis on holiday.
After a stop for lunch we headed to the first of three different chasms that we visited. A rather steep road dropped us down the side of a steep cliff to a small clearing in the rain forest where we parked up and headed in to the forest along a well maintained path that cut through the limestone boulders. It was not long until we reached Anapala chasm which was a very narrow cleft that cut in to the rock with steps leading down in to the darkness.
Its difficult to catch this dramatic place on camera. At the bottom of the chasm, it was almost dark except for the sunlight filtering through from the narrow top. The chasm was full of fresh water, so I took a swim along its length . It was quite unnerving! The water was fresh and crystal clear and where the shafts of light shone, you could see down to the bottom, many metres below. A very cool place!
A 30 minute drive further up the coast delivered us to Togo Chasm. We parked in another forest clearing and this time took a longer walk through the ancient woodland. It felt like walking through Fangorn Forest our of the lord of the rings!
Just next to the path were many huge spiders webs with some very evil looking spiders sitting in wait.
The path eventually broke through the forest and out to a huge vista of the sea and some amazing rook formations. The path cut through pinnacles of razor sharp limestone and came to dramtic cliff edges.
We met another family of Americans who were busy looking out to sea. We joined them and watched with joy, three humpback whales cavorting a 100 metres off shore!
The path lead down towards the chasm itself, where we had to climb down a long ladder to gain access to a weird oasis at the bottom. We sat and had a drink and then explored this fascinating place with a cave that lead to the sea.
The next day we continued our island tour. We headed to the North of the island and explored the caves of Tauei Fupiu Fort.
These caves were high up on the sides of cliffs showing that sea level at one time must have been a lot higher. Inside the caves were many stalagmites and stalactites.
Our next stop was Matapa Chasm, where a short walk took us down to the sea and a narrow protected gully with beautiful clear water.
I couldn’t resist the chance of a swim when we arrived further down the coast at Limu Pools. These pools were nestled in the cliffs and protected from the out sea by the reef. It was a very refreshing swim in the heat of the day
And finally as we headed back to Alofi and the anchorage we stopped to sea the place where Captain Cook was reputed to have landed when he claimed the island in the 1700’s much to the disgust of the native people i’m sure. Well at lease no other white person was to return to hassle the Niuean’s for another 80 years.
Of course no tour would be complete without a stop at this very convincing giant coconut crab which is mentioned in the 101 things to see in Niue guide!
Hopefully you will agree, this place really is a little gem in the pacific? Crystal clear water (great snorkelling), humpback whales and I haven’t even mentioned how lovely the people were. We could have happily stayed longer, but the sea had other plans.
Join us next time as we sail to the islands of Vava’u in the Kingdom of Tonga!
Dom & Ailsa on Azimuth