NIUE

Nathan Fa’avae makes it look easy. The endurance athlete and four time adventure racing world cup champion is a competitor and the 2016 Ambassador for the Niue Rockman Series. The world champ eats up the triathlon distance like he is out for a wander. He smiles as he emerges from the swim, does a quick and easy barefoot jog to the transition area, transitions in a blink and makes the bike leg on the rough bush track look like he is riding down the road for coffee. He finishes the run looking fast and relaxed, has a quick drink and gets stuck into supporting the other athletes. If Nathan is a study in grace, the last competitor in the tri, Niue local Alana is a study in determination. She works hard on every leg and sucks air on the bike ascent and the hot run but she keeps a solid pace the whole way and doesn’t once falter. The beauty of the Rockman tri is that the support for Alana is equally as vocal and enthusiastic as for Nathan. Niue has been hosting the Rockman event for 5 years. It is a fantastic concept, 4 days of events; the Rock Run, the Rock Bike, the Rock Swim and the Rock Triathlon/Duathlon. Each of which can be completed in a long or short form and all of them are finished by early morning so there is plenty of time to wander over the road for coffee and brekky at the delicious local café, the Crazy Uga, before enjoying all the tropical fun that Niue has to offer. If you are wondering about the rock reference, Niue is the world’s smallest independent nation (260sq. kms) and is known locally as the “rock”. It is genuinely a lump of rock in the midst of the pacific or more precisely, it is a raised coral atoll that stands alone in the centre of a triangle made up of Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands. It is 2400kms north east of NZ which translates to around 3 and ½ hours flying time and conveniently uses NZ dollars, NZ power plugs and is only an hour ahead of NZ time (the day before, just on the eastern side of the international date line). Niue has a tropical charm all of its own. It is a quiet slow sort of a place with 1200 permanent residents and a few visitors. The whole island is sprinkled with palm trees, caves, sheltered rocky coves and tiny beaches. The middle of the island is forest and towards the southern end the Huvalu Rainforest is home to some amazing indigenous trees and has been designated as a Conservation Area to protect and conserve the island’s natural resources. The sea is crystal clear because the island is a coral atoll with no streams or rivers which means there is no run off into the ocean so divers enjoy up to 80 metres of clarity. In addition, because the island is surrounded by a small reef, you can be in deep ocean within 10 metres of shore which makes for fantastic fishing and kayaking. Dolphins love Niue and in the depths of the NZ winter humpback whales pass through Niue with their young on their annual migration. Exercising in a place like Niue is a dream. Outside of their peak summer (Dec-Jan) when it is sticky hot and cyclone season, it is warm but the early mornings are pleasant and there is always a sea breeze. Biking and running on the shady bush trails is glorious. Coming through a lush palm lined bush track and emerging to a view of waves crashing in a deep blue ocean is heaven. There are also multiple water sport options. One secluded beach (Hio Beach) even has a paddle board that some kind soul has left for everyone to use! Niue hosts a variety of sporting events and is constantly looking at ways to tweak the events to make them better. This year the Rockman was a much smaller affair than previous years. The thing that sets the Rockman apart from other events is the opportunity to see Niue from inland, coastal and the sea over the four days but also the event is an incredibly supportive environment. Athletes are greeted with grins of delight at the water stops, no matter where they are in the field. Timing is done on a stopwatch somewhere and no-one appears to even be aware of the clock. Support is island style and pretty low key with everyone sitting around chatting until the athletes come past and get a cheer. This is an ideal event series for anyone of any level wanting an active holiday in a beautiful tropical environment. Top athletes can pace themselves against Nathan (good luck with that, the man is a ninja) and the rest will be encouraged whatever their ability. Niue Rockman is part of the Niue Rockman Series. The first in the series is the Niue Junior Rockman (20-21 April 2016), then the Rockman (May 16-19 http:// www. niueisland. com/ calendar/ 2016/ 5/ 16/ rockmanniue-challenge) and wrapping up with the Niue Ride the Rock ( 6 -8 June 2016). The Junior Rockman is a fantastic event that is always in the April school holidays. This is a two day