Niue
August 26,
2002
We arrived at the harbor at Alofi at 0800.
The weather was great and the island was very interesting. It is one big piece
of raised coral surrounded by cliffs about 100 feet high. The highest point on
the entire island is about 200 feet above sea level. There are no rivers or
lakes. When it rains the fresh water simply filters through the coral and goes
back into the sea providing Niue with some of the most crystal clear water
found anywhere. Dive visibility is often as much as 200 feet! There are many
caves here as well. It’s an incredible place to explore.
Massive coral spires on Niue
August 27,
2002
The anchorage at Alofi, the main village on
Niue, is in an open roadstead with no shelter from westerly winds. Because
there are no beaches at Niue, its tricky, if not impossible, to take your
dinghy into shore. So, the locals have rigged a crane that you use to lift your
dinghy out of the water and park it on the concrete wharf. In the photo below,
I’m getting a hand from Dave and Gay on Mobilse while Suzy operates the crane.
The dinghy lift at Niue
August 29,
2002
Niue was full of surprises. But, the neatest
one had to be the whales in our anchorage. We could actually hear the humpbacks
squeaking as they communicated with each other while we sat inside Final
Straw’s hull at dinner time. The photo below was taken the next morning when a
mother humpback, her offspring and an escort whale were swimming next to our
boat. Kevin got in the water and came within just a few feet of them. It was a
spectacular sight!
Whales in the harbor at Alofi
August 30,
2002
The diving here was terrific. Because the
water is so clear, you can see so much more than normal dive sites. For the
first time, we saw sea snakes. They had black and white stripes and, although poisonous,
weren’t at all aggressive. We did some excellent coral cave dives and saw rare
blue lobsters, lion fish and other unusual species.
Diving with fellow cruisers
September 1,
2002
Niue turned out to be a very pleasant place
to visit. Unfortunately, the economy is not doing well and many Niueans have left
seeking jobs in New Zealand and other parts of the world. There are only about
1700 islanders left and almost half the homes are vacant. They have avoided
building large resorts here favoring a simpler way of life. But, economically,
their future is uncertain. After spending six days here, we reluctantly left
for Tonga. It’s a two day sail that is made into three due to the fact you lose
a day when you cross the International Dateline! So, what did happen to
September 3, 2002 anyway?
To continue the adventure to Tonga, click here!
To go back to the home page, click here!