Alofi Nuie

[Trim50]

We have been in Niue for nearly a week now after having spent a week at Beveridge Reef. I can't believe I finally made it to Beveridge Reef after all the talking I did about it. It was a pretty surreal place to be the only boat for about 3 days. The weather really hammered us for a few days also. On our way to Niue we also got pounded by another storm which pinched us at the South end of the island on our final approach.

When we arrived at Niue, we rented a 4x4 Land Cruiser with our friends Freezing Rain and have been exploring the many caves and chasms around the island as well as the many bars which there seems to be equally as many. It seems that the New Zealand influence warrants a beer stop at the end of any hike. My kinda place!

Today we are going diving with the humpback whales. Tomorrow will be two cave dives and Friday will be two dives with sea snakes and coral chasms. Lori will not be doing the cave dive. Hopefully we will be able get some good pictures. Also, our good Nikon camera is not working due to the Li-Ion rechargeable battery reaching the end of it’s life. So, you will likely notice a decrease in the quality of our pictures for a short time until we find a replacement battery.

Still loving the cruising life and trying to decide if we should leave the boat in Fiji and fly to NZ or just sail all the way down. Freezing Rain is trying to get us to sail down, but we are leaning towards Vuda Point so that the boat is already in the islands at the start of the next season. Any thoughts on the subject?

[redbopeep]

Trim--it sounds like you're having a wonderful time! David and I envy you seeing the lovely caves and the cave diving sounds great. Someone with more knowledge than opinion will likely weigh in on your New Zealand sail vs fly. I'd say SAIL! but that is because you can always fly there (albeit from farther away) and David and I have always wanted to sail to NZ (well, they have a lot of great classic boats there!). Therefore, our vote is that you SAIL there!

[Lighthouse]

I say - Keep Sailing!

[JeanneP]

Yay! You went to Beveridge Reef. I'm sorry to hear about the storms, that could have made it uncomfortable for you if they came at high tide. But I bet the waves over the reef were spectacular! Beveridge is one of the places to which I wish we could make a return trip.

I don't know what color your dinghy is, but a friend who stopped there found a sea snake sleeping in his dinghy - he had a red (Avon?) and thought it was the color since nobody else had a problem with the snakes climbing into the dinghy. I snorkeled and followed one around once - they're pretty focused on finding food and ignored me completely. Pretty little things. Wait 'til you get to Australia. The ones in the Gulf of Carpentaria are HUGE.

When we were at Niue there weren't any moorings. I understand that there are now. Is that correct? And how many?

Oh, enjoy. The caves are pretty great.

Green with envy

Jeanne

[Lighthouse]

Originally Posted by JeanneP

When we were at Niue there weren't any moorings. I understand that there are now. Is that correct? And how many?

See the Niue/Alofi page on the Cruising Wiki.

[Trim50]

Originally Posted by JeanneP

When we were at Niue there weren't any moorings. I understand that there are now. Is that correct? And how many?

I just counted 16 and they are all full.

The diving is outstanding in Niue and the whales come up to the mooring field every night and start singing their songs just to wake the sailors. It is hard to sleep when they start singing.

Still a hard call on the Fiji vs. NZ at the end of the season. It only costs $480 round trip from Fiji to NZ and $2500 to store the boat in a trench for cyclone season. It would cost us 2X that to keep the boat at a marina in NZ for the off season. We plan to buy a used carravan and drive the islands the entire time we are there, so the boat would simply be sitting. Then, there is the 1000+ mile sail back to Fiji...and usually an ugly sail based on what I've read from blogs each year.

[JeanneP]

Originally Posted by Trim50

...and usually an ugly sail based on what I've read from blogs each year.

That's true. As one of our friends said when we met them in Vanuatu, "we had a gale going down there, and a gale coming back up. As usual."

And isn't the water in Niue incredible? I couldn't believe it. Amazing.

[Trim50]

Originally Posted by JeanneP

That's true. As one of our friends said when we met them in Vanuatu, "we had a gale going down there, and a gale coming back up. As usual."

And isn't the water in Niue incredible? I couldn't believe it. Amazing.

My guess is that it may be the best visibility anywhere in the world. Easily over 150 ft with electric blue that is blinding when the sun is high above. It is truely amazing.



I took this picture just 3 hours ago when diving the Chimney Cave just 300 yards from our boat. Picture is of the entrance at 85 feet. As can be seen, the water is crystal clear.