Niue

It was about 500 NM from Suwarrow to Niue, sailing pretty much south-west.  After an easy day of motor-sailing in glorious sunshine, we finally switched the engines off around 10pm.  The wind steadily increased and so did our boat speed for the next couple of days.  As dawn broke on Friday 17^th August after three nights at sea, the shadow of Niue came into view.  Niue could not be more opposite in terms of landscape to Suwarrow, with great limestone cliffs standing 30m out of the sea and the world of Niue sitting on top. 

Niue is a pretty cool place and quite a surprise to us on this trip.  With a population of around 1500, it is the smallest self-governed island in the world.  Its remoteness is what makes it so unique.  There can only ever be about 250 visitors to the island at any time, so the chances of you getting a beach or canyon to yourself are pretty high.  There is no truly safe harbour at Niue.  Alofi provides reasonable shelter from the prevailing winds, but should the winds turn to the south or west you need to get out fast as the seas will pick up making it a dangerous place to be.  It truly is a rock island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

It seemed to take all day to sail around the island and into Alofi Harbour.  The weather had turned and we had grey skies, grey seas and rain.  We dropped sails and followed Dol Selene into Alofi harbour to pick up a mooring ball at around 2:30pm.  Pelizeno had kept their eye on two moorings for us.  Our timing was good as we had just enough time to get our things together and dinghy into the wharf to clear immigration/ customs before the weekend. 

How to launch a dinghy in Niue

Coming into the wharf at Niue is a unique experience.  There is no beach and the ocean swell can be such at times that a floating pontoon/ dinghy dock would not survive.  Instead they provide a hoist on the concrete wharf.  You motor alongside the wharf and the crew jumps off and operates the crane, manoeuvring the sling over the water and down to the waiting dinghy.  The sling is attached to three ropes tied to the dinghy, then the skipper jumps out and hopefully the crane lifts the dinghy evenly out of the water and up onto the wharf.  All this while the swell rolls in and keeps things on the water moving about.  Getting the boat back into the water is the same in reverse, but somehow it is simpler when you are going from land to sea.  There were a few things to iron out after our first attempt, but by the time we left Niue we had become very good at jumping off our dinghy and lifting it onto the wharf.  This may or may not have had something to do with the swell dying out after Day 1 (😉).

After check in, we wandered up into the main town of Alofi to have an early dinner.  Alofi town centre felt like a coastal town in New Zealand, especially as there were so many Kiwis on holiday there.  After almost a year struggling with foreign languages, it was so wonderful to be in a place where English is spoken.  So sweet to understand and be understood.  We enjoyed a curry for dinner at the local Indian restaurant, catching up and making plans for our stay in Niue.  After a short stroll through town we made our way back to the wharf whilst there was still daylight.  We expertly (😊) hoisted our dinghy back over the side of the wharf and into the sea and dinghied out to RAFTKIN where a full night of sleep awaited us.

View across the Alofi anchorage

Saturday morning the weather had cleared.  There was a Whale Festival in Alofi, so we went into town mid-morning to see what was happening and wandered around the town centre for an hour or so, listening to the local music and catching up with friends from other boats.  We strolled up to Café Uga (pronounced ‘Oonga’ – Uga is Niuean for coconut crab) where we had a proper flat white (bliss!) and chatted with some locals.  Pete (from Pelizeno) was trying to find some relatives to his grandfather, who was born on Niue and serendipitously found them running the Café Uga!

Later, we walked back to the wharf and took the dinghy out to the boat. Hayley, Megan and Zenon played on the back of the boat, jumping off and throwing water at each other.  I went for a snorkel and was gobsmacked at the clarity of the water.  I could see straight to the mooring at the bottom, 34 m below us, clear as day.  I swam over to the cliffs along the shoreline and saw loads of big fish and a couple of sea snakes.  The coral was incredible.  Different to what we have seen elsewhere, perhaps because of the depth of the water.

Exploring Opaahi beach,  near Alofi anchorage

 We had an early start on Sunday as we had the cars and there was much to see, a lot of it dependent on the tides.  Our first stop was to walk around the rock pools to the north of the anchorage.  We drove out of Alofi and found a track down the cliff to the waters edge.  A reef flat ran around the base of the cliff, full of rock pools big and small, all crystal clear and teaming with life.  We stopped at a large, deep pool and went for a snorkel in what felt like our own private pool.  So much colour.  We continued walking around the reef flat until we found a canyon leading back up to the road.  With the tide coming in fast we opted to walk up to the road rather than continue around the rock platform to some limestone caves.  It seemed safer to walk along the road a few hundred metres, then descend back down to the reef flat through a series of caves to Avaiki.

Coastal walk around the rockpools and sea caves of Niue

Hayley catches the sun at the rockpools

Avaiki is, legend has it, the landing place of the first Polynesians settler’s to Niue.  It is a derivative of Havaiki or Hawaiki.  At the bottom we found a large, cathedral like limestone cave filled with juvenile fish and coral.  Again the water was crystal clear.  With so much freshwater seeping through the limestone, there was a mix of freshwater and saltwater in the cave.  The saltwater sits on the top.  It is warmer as the sea temperature about 28⁰ C, but the freshwater comes through the rock and is significantly cooler.  We all went swimming in the cave and found swim-throughs and interesting fish and coral.  The water looked shiny swimming underwater.  There were a couple of other kid-boats there at the same time as us, Anila and Blue Zulu, so the kids had a ball exploring the caves around the base of the cliff.  

 Walking into Avaiki caves

Time for a swim in the Avaiki sea caves

We made our way back to the cars to head down to Washaway Café, right down the southern end of the island.  Washaway, Pete had found out the day before, was owned by his cousin Willy.  Amazing.

Washaway is another Niuean oddity.  Its only open on Sundays for a start, the day when everything else is closed.  Perched above a beautiful beach, it was called Washaway because everyone told Willy it would wash away in the first storm after it was built.  Many years later it still survives.  It is a simple affair with a couple of guys (including Willy) working the BBQs at the back of café.  In the centre is a circular bar lined with fridges full of drinks and shelves of glasses.  Guests are asked to ‘self-serve’, then write what they have taken in a book on the bar.  At the end it is an honesty system when you go to pay the bill.  Willy says it just works.  Sometimes he even runs into people in town on Monday who will say they forgot to pay for something and give him the money.  The food is pretty good too.  Hard to beat fresh fish.

Lunch at Washaway Cafewith Dol Selene and Pelizeno

After lunch we needed a long walk so we drove around to the eastern, windward side of the island to Togo Chasm.  We walked through the ancient coastal forest, then out to the sea cliffs, where we descended through strange, pinnacle rock formations.  At the entrance to the chasm there was a long ladder that provides access to the oasis at the bottom, where coconut trees grow in white sand and the sky is circled all around by pale grey rock.

Spectacular coastal walk into Togo Chasm

Ladder climb down into Togo Chasm

Togo Chasm

We made our way back to the cars and over to Alofi to the Putt Putt Golf place, located on the cliff high above the Alofi anchorage.  We were expecting it to be closing up, but it’s Sunday in Niue and this is one of the only places open for a meal or drinks on a Sunday.  There were still plenty of locals enjoying a drink and the owner, Mark (who happened to be an acquaintance of Brian’s from Wellington, now living on Niue) is happy to stay open while there are people enjoying themselves.  We had ordered chicken and salad, which we were going to take to have a picnic somewhere.

As we got there, the families from Anila and Blue Zulu arrived, so the kids all got together for a game of putt putt.  Soon enough Lisa, Gail and I decided to follow suit and started a Ladies Tournament.  What an awesome putt putt course, the greens set between the limestone, surrounded by ferns, bromeliads and orchids; and with stunning views out across the Pacific.  As the sun set we enjoyed a quiet dinner overlooking the Alofi anchorage, before returning to our boats to rest up, ready to do it all again tomorrow. 

Boat kids play minigolf

Evening meal at the mini golf in Alofi

On Monday morning we met Dol Selene and Pelizeno on the wharf.  Our first port of call was the Niue Hydroponics Farm, owned by Mark from the Putt Putt Golf place.  There is less than half a meter of dirt on Niue, so growing anything in the ground can be quite a challenge, unless it’s a palm tree.  Solution – hydroponics.  With hydroponics there are now lettuces, herbs, eggplant, cucumbers, cabbages and rockmelons, to name a few.

Lettuce! Tour of Mark's hydroponics farm in Niue

A short drive to the northern most end of the island took us to the top of the trail down to Matapa Chasm.  Matapa Chasm is reputed to be the exclusive bathing pool of Niuean royalty in days gone by.  It is best seen at midday, when the sun is directly above the steep sided canyon to light up the rock walls and the water.  Once we reached the bottom we quickly donned our mask and fins and jumped into the water.  Visibility in the chasm was incredible, with an even more pronounced shimmering than in the cave at Avaiki due to the freshwater seepage into the chasm.

Megan makes it to Matapa Chasm

Matapa Chasm

Megan swims through Matapa Chasm

After a picnic lunch in Matapa Chasm, we walked out and then along a separate track to the Tavala Arches.  We followed the track through the forest and out to the coast, where we came upon the spectacular arches etched away by time and weather.  It is clear standing on the arches why this place was used by the first inhabitants as a lookout for invaders. More thrilling for Hayley, Megan and Zenon were the limestone caves behind the arches, where they could explore and climb.  Soon they were in a world of imagination and we literally had to drag them away.

Picnic lunch in Matapa Chasm

Tavala Arches

Kids explore the limestone caves at Tavala Arches

Legends at Tavala Arches

Back in Alofi we made a last stop at the supermarket for last minute provisioning (shopping in English – what a joy!) and perhaps a few things from the duty-free bottle shop…  Then it was a quick turn-around trip out to the boats to get changed before we came back to return the cars and head out for dinner at Falafafa, said to be the best restaurant in town.  It was a special night as we know we are on borrowed time with our wonderful friends from across the ditch.  Best fish and chips ever.

Tuesday morning we woke early and prepared the boat for our departure later in the morning.  Pelizeno radioed and invited us over for pancakes for breakfast to celebrate Pete’s birthday.  What a great last morning, sitting in the sunshine in a beautiful anchorage enjoying good coffee, pancakes and company.  Later a chocolate cake and a song, before we reluctantly went back to ready the boat, stow the dinghy and drop the mooring.  The wind was perfect for us and we hoisted our big, blue spinnaker and sailed west, away from beautiful Niue and onward to Tonga.