What you can’t miss in Niue
The swimming hole of the gods, a bar run on the honour system, Niue’s jam-packed with beautiful, quirky places, writes David De Lorean.
At Niue’s Ana’ana Point, rough waves pound into the coral, shooting plumes of water into the air in front of me. Much of the coast stretches out around me, the northern and southern ends of the country partially visible from where I stand, perched above the blowholes in the coral.
It’s like I’m standing in a postcard. Niue is a peaceful, quiet place, with only 1684 people living on the coral atoll. There are few shops, there’s little in the way of crime – in fact, there are only 16 police officers in the entire country – and not much in the way of traditional beaches, like you’d find in places like Fiji.
But it has its own unique sights, which anyone visiting the tiny nation should explore.
I travelled to Niue on board the Crystal Symphony, riding a boat from the massive ship to shore. There, I was greeted by my tour guide, a member of my extended family who calls Niue home.
As more tourists made their way ashore, we clambered into a van, to see Niue for the first time.
A trip around Niue doesn’t take long. It’s possible to drive around the entire country in about 45 minutes. That meant we quickly made our way to Avaiki.
The swimming hole of the Gods
Avaiki – the swimming hole of the gods – has major cultural significance for the people of Niue.
Said to be the landing place of the first Polynesian settlers in Niue, the name comes from Havaiki or Hawaiki, the ancestral home of Polynesians.
A short trek down stairs and ramps, and my group and I are greeted by a cave with a pool inside, containing fish and fragile coral.
The tide keeps the swimming hole of the gods just out of reach. But we couldn’t have taken a dip even if we wanted to. It’s currently closed, to allow for the safe spawning of the kaloama, a treasured fish in Niue.
Matapa chasm
The next stop on our tour is Matapa Chasm, thought to have once been the exclusive bathing pool of Niuean royalty.
This is heaven on earth for snorkellers, with fresh water and salt water mixing together, creating a unique space with clear waters. A quick dip of the feet confirmed it’s also very cold – a relief on a day when the temperature has shot past 30 degrees.
Oneonepata Beach, Avatele Bay
After a quick break at a small cafe – luckily for Kiwis, Niue uses the NZ dollar – we made our way to a small beach at the bottom of the country.
Once a beacon for sailing ships, the sandy beach (albeit one with very coarse sand) is home to fishermen, divers and snorkelers.
The rocky shoreline is home to a vast array of small sea creatures, with one tourist excitedly telling me it was the greatest snorkeling she’d ever done.
The beach even hosts the Washaway Bar, an establishment that nicely sums up the chilled-out experience of travelling around Niue: purchases here operate on the honour system.
Ana’ana Point
Eventually the tour made its way to Ana’ana Point, a lookout area which offered up some of the most spectacular blowholes I’d ever seen in the Pacific.
‘‘They only work when the waves are rough,’’ my guide tells me.
Pushing forward, myself and a handful of other tourists make our way across the jagged rocks. I immediately regretted wearing flip-flops.
But that thought left my head straight away, as a large wave pounded into the sea just below me, sending water shooting through the blowholes, to the awe of everyone standing on the cliff.
Nooks and crannies everywhere
Making our way back to town, I started to explore, to find the tucked-away
The tide keeps the swimming hole of the gods just out of reach.
spaces a country like Niue is choc-full of. A couple of small tracks led me to exactly what I wanted to find, my own slice of Niue to enjoy.
In the heart of Alofi, the capital of Niue, two walking tracks were a short hike away from the information centre: Utuko Reef Sea Track and the Togalahi Sea Track.
Grates have been put down to make the trek a little easier for visitors, and at the bottom both offer coarse sand and cold water for travellers braving the humid days.
In an age where so many parts of the Pacific are becoming nothing but tourist traps, it’s nice to know pristine places like these still exist.
❚ The writer travelled to Niue courtesy of Crystal Cruises.