Niue

This island country of approx. 2000 people is one of the smallest countries in the world. It is self governing with 14 villages and, like The Cooks, is part of the Realm of New Zealand. Also known as “The Rock”, Niue is one of the world’s largest coral islands. With steep limestone cliffs along the coast and surrounded by coral reef, there’s only one major break in the reef - at Alofi Bay.

Anchoring is not allowed in the bay and there are only about 20 mooring balls. We had ball #16 reserved but when we arrived (after dark), another boat was on it. The weather was rather crappy and no boats were leaving, overstaying their alotted time. We (and another boat) had to spend the night zig zagging the harbor until morning when they installed 2 more mooring balls.

There is one dinghy landing - which is a large concrete wharf with a

crane with which you must lift your dinghy up, swing it onto a small trailer, pull/push the trailer off to the side along the edge of the wharf and then take the dinghy off the trailer so the next dinghy can use it. And all in reverse to go back in the water and back out to your boat. A larger dinghy than most plus the tides, swells, wind and rain all add to all the fun.

Niue is a place where it's normal for complete strangers to wave at each other (all our friends and family from Iowa will feel right at home!) and very impolite if you don't. No concrete jungles or highways, no traffic lights or roundabouts - but lots of scenic routes to see the flourishing rainforest, jagged cliffs, sandy hidden coves and rock pools. Luckily we were able to rent a car to get a good feel for the island - hike some slippery rocky trails to caves, the Limu Pools, some dangerous boat launches, attend an annual Village Show Day and a fun "upcycled" sculpture garden. We also were able to see giant uga (coconut crabs), the largest land crustacean. They mostly eat coconuts, can climb up palm tress and use their strong claws to crack into a coconut - and they kinda look like a coconut. They can weigh up to 9 lbs, live up to 60 years and are a delicacy. Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to try one.

This is truly the land of caves and graves. There are more dead on this island than live (pop. 1500) with numerous individual and family gravesites often right by their homes plus several larger church cemeteries, war memorials and the grave of former King Fataaiki. They honor their dead here - several old burial sites have been discovered, cleared and now well maintained.

With limited lights polluting the sky at night, Niue is the world’s first country to become certified as a Dark Sky Place - perfect for viewing the thousands of stars in the night sky. If only the clouds would go away! We haven't seen much sun, moon or stars since our first day at the Cook Islands. Leaving Niue Sunday evening, we had a whale encounter with 3 whales close to our boat - and were delightfully entertained with their jumps, blowing, pectoral fin and tail fluke slaps, What a great way to start our 2-night sail to Tonga. On the 2nd night we finally saw the Dark Sky full of bright shining stars again.

Good night, moon.
XO XO
Gma & Gpa