Niue - The Rock of Polynesia

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We reached Niue an island in the South Pacific Ocean, 2,400 kilometres northeast of New Zealand, east of Tonga, south of Samoa and west of the Cook Islands after a short three-hour flight from Auckland. One of the smallest countries and one of the largest raised coral atolls on earth we found the island very unusual with beautiful crystal waters but a rugged coral coastline so no sandy beaches. Niue pronounced New-ay means 'behold the coconut' it may be the world's smallest independent nation, this Pacific Island is also known as the "Rock of Polynesia".

We found amazing swimming spots, usually after a short trek and a scramble through rocks and coral. We viewed stunning caves and swam in spectacular chasms. We had a hire car for a day and were able to drive around most of the island, travel is slow as the roads are very pot-holed but with only a few roads it’s very difficult to get lost. Locals are very proud to say the population has increased to 1700, we found the islanders very friendly and every passing driver gives you a wave and the custom is to wave back.

Niue is dotted with hidden coves, tricky to negotiate in a hire car but Ron managed. We stayed at Matavai Resort and enjoyed dinner and music there each evening, the resort is right on the coast and we were thrilled to spot whales passing while we enjoyed a cocktail at sunset. We had a fabulous lunch at Kaiika a restaurant which serves fabulous fresh Japanese style seafood with a Niuean twist, Ron had read about this restaurant as because of the reputation of the food a Japanese film crew had recently visited.

We found three nights just enough to see most sights but would recommend longer if you really want to relax, with only two flights in a week the choice was either three nights or seven nights. The Matavai Resort is definitely the place to stay with friendly helpful staff and beautiful views out to sea, we only had a hire car for a day but would recommend hiring one for the whole time if you stayed longer as the island is easy to navigate and the resort is not walking distance to the small town Alofi.

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Photos

Coral outcrops

One of the few beaches on Niue

Matapa Chasm

Avaiki Cave

Avaiki Cave