Niue

Pretty sure you haven’t heard about Niue before – we haven’t either. That is before we looked into Lonely Planet’s recommendations for Pacific diving. And according to them it was worth a visit. So, we decided to give it a try.

Niue is one of the smallest nations on the planet with resident population hovering just around 1500 people (triple that if you count in the chicken). We met some people in New Zealand who have been there and just like all the online reviews, not a bad word about Niue. There is no crime, no traffic lights and no crowds. Even Kiwis find this place unpopulated (in hindsight that should have been a warning…)!

Anyway, most visitors come for the pristine environment, but we had some additional  reasons as well. On top of best underwater visibility in Pacific (up to 80m), Niue is also one of only 3 places in the world where you can swim with humpback wales during their annual migration (July-October). Being late June we hoped for early arrivals – some years they come as early as May. Not this year we are afraid – water was still 2 degrees too warm for them and forecast was looking more like August for the start of the season. But hey, we already had the tickets at this stage and there was no turning back. Well, to be completely honest, Nives suggested changing the tickets and spending that time in Hong Kong and KL shopping, but Dejan’s bewildered look was the answer. So, Niue was definitely on.

Islands is actually a largest raised coral atoll in the world with nothing much but blue water for thousands of kilometres in every direction. Perhaps this isolation is the reason for the abundance of sea snakes in its waters – much to Nives’ “delight”. On our first swim into the warm waters, we practically jumped on two of them coming up for air. Have to admit that this was one of the shortest swims we have ever done – not even sure if we got properly wet before we were back on dry land. Dejan probably still has nail marks on his back when Nives tried to climb on him in the water! And yes, they are very poisonous, but not aggressive (even docile) and there have been no incidents yet.

So, with all diving here done in areas with snakes (hey, that’s what you come here to see after all), it was only Dejan who went for a dip. And as luck would have it – not a single snake on that dive (probably would have been hundreds if Nives had decided to go…). Verdict on diving – not good we are afraid; even Dejan did only one day and decided that there is no point in doing any additional dives. Sadly (or not J), our previous diving stop was in French Polynesia and our standards are now sky-high (spoilt would probably be the right word). Endless visibility, nice coral and warm waters were nice, but we wouldn't fly this far for it.

With water out of reach we focused on riding the bike around the island and walking all the various sea tacks (no snakes on land!). Chasms, caves, arches and cliffs really are in abundance here. After endless sandy beaches in other pacific islands, we found this change a delight and perhaps at times pushing too much while attempting the harder walks in our flip-flops (shoes have been sent home). Some of them require practically climbing thru the caves. This part of the trip was really enjoyable as the scenery is pretty much unique. It looks as if you are on another planet really.

But, before we could do any driving around, we had to stop at the police station and get a local driving licence. With islands relaxed atmosphere, this felt more like a stop in souvenir shop than police station.

To top it all we had a fantastic room with kitchen and fridge topped (brand new – we were the first guests!!!) up with duty free vino. Another good thing about the island is that they offer duty free prices for maximum allowed amount of alcohol on the island. Well, not really proud, but we did reach out quota – that was the last chance to drink New Zealand wine after all. After a while in various eco resorts we definitely appreciated electricity and drinking water from the tap. Not to mention that there actually are shops on the island!

Without water activities staying 11 days was perhaps couple of days to long. Had we had whales and dolphins I’m sure we would thought it was too short. It was a nice place to relax a bit after all the action in other Pacific islands and we did that in abundance as well. Reading a book and having a cocktail with fresh coconut water on a platform high above the sea with beautiful views is not such a bad way to spend some time either. The coastline is unique in its rugged beauty, but would have to say that it’s just too far from home to make a return trip here in the future. Then again, we have said this before for some other places as well.

With nothing more than couple of days in Auckland, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur before we return home this was our last travel stop on this trip. Soon we will be back on home food to recover all the weight lost on the trip. Home sweet home – here we come!!!!!

Some more pictures here.