Niue is basically only a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, some 12-14 km in diameter. In reality it is an upraised coral atoll which means it’s flat like the bottom of a lagoon, and the coral heads that were once on the bottom are now in the forest. I had a very hard time getting used to seeing birds flying around the corals instead of fish swimming, and waving ferns instead of soft coral…

This picture shows my serious attempt to adjust to corals on land as I’m trying out some swim strokes while wearing mask and snorkel. Though I must admit I had some difficulties in keeping my buoyancy …

Yet Niue is its own independent nation! Its roots are Polynesian, but it has been a British Protectorate for so long that it has become very westernised. However, they do still practice a few Niuean traditions such as the Ear Piercing Ceremony to which I was lucky to be invited.

EAR PIERCING CEREMONY

Less lucky though was the girl to be pierced. The ear piercing ceremony marks Growing-Up, and it’s a big honour to be the “Piercer”. Some poor girl may have as many as six female relatives feeling they want to have a go at torturing the child, who therefore ends up with - that’s right - six holes. This girl only got three, but she didn’t seem to appreciate her luck!

Today Niue is annexed to New Zealand and almost everyone speaks English in addition to Niuean. Less than 1800 people live on Niue, and less every day since people immigrate to New Zealand. There are so many abandoned villages I am afraid they might have to abolish the nation due to lack of residents…

SAIL MENDING STUDIO

When we first arrived we were busy sewing our torn sail for a few days. We set up a sail-mending studio in the local market place. It was located in the middle of town and people who stopped by to talk, both locals and other sailors, constantly distracted us!   

Everyone was telling us about the great places to visit around the island, and we were just biting our nails to get started exploring, both on land and in the water. There are no rivers in Niue, so the water visibility is INCREADIBLY good! And the countless caves, canyons and tunnels that perforate the island do so even under water. What could be better for a professional adventurer than an island like a Swiss cheese?! It is such a great place that I have to let you know that you don’t have to sail there, but it is possible to fly, in 2 or 3h, from Tonga or New Zealand… Now l sound like a travel agent, but I promise I’m not paid by anyone!

Judge for yourself:

ULUPAKA CAVE

Ben in one of the Ulupaka caves were innumerable stalactites and stalagmites make up tunnels, arches, cathedrals, lakes... In the first cave we got lost after having crawled and climbed for over half an hour into what turned out to be an incomprehensive labyrinth on our way out… In the second cave, wise from our first experience, I brought big, green leaves, which I tore in pieces and left behind just like Hans and Gretchen in the fairytale. However, Ben fell and broke the glass-cup of our torch, which then kept blowing out in the draft. Again and again, we were left in absolute darkness. We did have a small battery-torch with us, but we had no idea how long we would have to nurse the batteries in order to find my green trail of Exit signs… Maybe I could have used the flashlight on my camera?

VAIKONA CHASM

Gabi on her way down in the Vaikona Chasm before knowing that after crawling in through this narrow opening, she had to cling to an almost vertical wall, step over a bottomless gap, make it round un-trustable rocks and finally haul herself down a rope - only to get where the adventure begins: The underwater caves! WOW! But she did real well! Our empathy and standing ovations, Gabi!

Niue’s best adventure: The Vaikona Chasm! To explore the system of caves we first geared up with a torch, mask, snorkel and fins, and then immersed our selves in this crystal clear, brackish, ice-cold water…

In the upper/centre of the picture is a dark archway that looks like the opening. Correct, except that the entrance is 3m below the surface. When you look down you see that the underwater archway is quite big and reaches the bottom at approx 15m. Just take a deep breath and swim through; after 30 seconds you come up in a dark cave on the other side. After catching your breath you realize the roof is far above your head with plenty of air to breath, and in the far back you see the twinkle of a light. After swimming there you have to take off your fins and climb up some rocks to get through a narrow hole and up into the light. This is a small patio enclosed by cliff walls letting the sun in some 30 m above. However, there are more caves to explore, and on the other side there is again an inviting black hole to crawl down. As you climb with the snorkel gear in your arms, you hear a falling rock make a splashing sound beneath you and you realize there is water. But the surface is so still and clear that without the ripples it is impossible to judge where you would have a free fall through air or where water would stop you. Again there is a partially water filled cave with numerable tunnels and arches continuing below water leading to new caves and so on. With our torches we could see there were stalactites even under water, and also plenty of boulders and stones from where the ceiling had caved in. It was frightening, exiting and heart-pounding… But the BEST was on our way out when exiting through the first archway and back into the pool shown in the picture; looking from the dark cave, the sunlight penetrating the pool on the other side of the arch made it seem like if you were about to swim into a turquoise portal of a magic fairytale… We just couldn’t resist doing it over and over and over again… It was so beautiful! And I even came back with Ben on another day…

The Matapa Chasm, also called The Kings Swimming pool. The nickname is 100% accurate because big boulders lock out the ocean and create a completely protected pool inside this chasm. It’s approx 7m deep, with a rocky bottom and some cute little fish swimming around.