Niue

If you've never heard of Niue, don't worry, neither did we until some friends on a boat in Bonaire said it was a great dive site, blessed with the clearest water in the world. Being dive nuts we just had to see for ourselves.

At this point it was the middle of September, we had spent 3 months in French Polynesia and needed to get moving if we were going to make it to New Zealand in the first part of November. There is a cyclone season in the South Pacific, that while not well known elsewhere, is just as nasty if you're in it. In the case of Niue, the island was hit by Cyclone Heta in January 2004, complete with 185mph winds and 90' waves.

Out timetable caused us to skip the Cook Islands entirely. The anchorages in the Cooks are few and not especially large. Although we had friends who really enjoyed Rarotonga, we had to give it a miss. We therefore had a 1100nm passage ahead, the first big voyage since arriving in the French Polynesia.

This is a sunrise! Sunsets are easier to shoot, partly because nobody's feeling like photography at 5AM, but also because most sheltered tropical anchorages face westward.

Here's a decent-sized mahi-mahi. We caught an even bigger one (honest!) but it got off while we tried to find a good way to get it on deck.

This is the NE coast of Niue. Unlike French Polynesia, Niue is a coral island, an atoll that has been raised a couple hundred feet by tectonic activity related to the Tonga Trench just to the west . Niue's genesis is such that the former lagoon has become a forest and part-time lake. The tendency for water to run to the center of the island and trickle through the limestone is why the water around the island is so clear: no run-off.

As you can see, Niue is fairly dull-looking from a distance. A closer examination shows large caves and a kind of layer-cake appearance. The terracing is probably the result of variations in sea level over time.

This is the Bay at Alofi, the main town on Niue. The bay is sheltered but a really nasty swell enters and makes it very rolly at times. There are many moorings available, which are very inexpensive. Unlike French Polynesia, Niue is desperate for tourists. They are very accommodating and friendly.

With a population of about 1,400, Niue is the smallest nominally sovereign nation in the world; I say "nominally" because they are very dependant on New Zealand. Indeed, many more Niueans live in New Zealand than in Niue itself.

This is a huge thunderstorm overtaking the island. On one occasion we had winds of 40kts in the anchorage.

This is how you "park" your dingy. There's a do-it-yourself electric crane that you use to lift your dinghy onto the white trailer seen in the foreground. The dink is then lined up on the edge of the wharf.

A perfect isolated haven for a picnic and Amour. Snorkeling is great as well!

This is a cemetery on the side of the road. In Niue, all land is owned by families and they have no problems placing a cemetery anywhere on ancestral land. Placement by a road make it convenient to visit.

Here are some abandoned houses on Niue. Whole villages are empty, the residents gone to New Zealand. The exodus was heightened by Cyclone Heta, which flattened much of the island.

Note the gin-clear water. This was a cave that was probably destroyed by Heta.

Yeah, we can't get enough of tropical sunsets...

Here's our mermaid in an underwater cavern.

This is a sea snake, one of the most poisonous snakes in the world, with nine times the venom of a cobra. Fortunately, its head is so small that you have to work at being bitten.

This is a view of the west side; Alofi is in the center, about 10nm away. This can only mean one thing - we're on our way to Tonga

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