Leaving Niue...

At very early o'clock in the morning. The plane turned up about 40 minutes late. We didn't leave till after 03:00

The road to Avatele

The road to Avatele with jungle and Lianas.

Anapala Chasm

Walking for a short distance through the forest (off the vehicle track) leads to a very steep descent, down damp steps and finally to the bottom of the Anapala chasm. I think it is fresh water, but I didn't try it. Like Matapa the frsh water flows out and mixes with the sea water.

Gothic City

Gothic City, one of the dive sites off the south coast of Niue. This site isn't commonly visited, said Anne. The waves at Niue often come from the south east, driven by the trade winds, so Gothic City is not normally accessible. Luckily the swell was small enough for Anne to venture around to the site. After carefully mooring the zodiac to the permanent mooring we got in the water with haste. The swell was still quite uncomfortable. However, once in the currents were quite manageable. 20m down and there were lots of impressive coral growths.

Spinner Dolphins

Uschi and I got to play with some Spinner Dolphins, Stenella longirostris. We held onto the outer grab ropes of the zodiac, one each side and Anne drove us along with the pod. The dolphins played with us, staying in station and crossing over in front of us. Uschi said she counted more than 25 of them. I saw one or two with leaves on their fins. Anne said that was something they liked to do too.

Limu

Limu is a protected complex of lagoons and caverns. It is connected to the sea but is safe to swim in for all but the strongest tides. Uschi and I had a twilight swim there where we found lots of tube worms, sea urchins and other nocturnal creatures. Also the biggest sea animal I have been close to. A moray eel bigger than me was hiding in a cavern by the steps to the lagoon.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Because in Niue, that's what chickens do (!)

First swim on Niue

A first swim on Niue and we are amazed by the amount of sea life here.







In the shallow water in front of the police station in the main city Alofi we see a 15 to 20 unfamiliar species of fish and the ubiquitous sea snakes. From tiny tropical fish which you would expect to see in an aquarium in someone's house, to big blue parrot fish. Good indication of what is likely to come.

Niue, The Adventure Continues...

Arriving in the early hours of the morning. As the plane lands the rain starts coming down.
The doors opened onto a warm, wet tropical night and my first impression is the damp musty smell of the air stepping out from the cool processed air of the plane.

We left Adelaide at 11 o'clock on Friday morning and are stepping out onto Niue at 01:30 Friday morning after travelling most of the day, arriving before we left. The wonders of crossing the date line.