Blogs from Niue, Cook Islands, Oceania

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 ... read more

18.33.02S 174.03.23E Arrived 0300 on the morning of Friday the 30th of July in the moorings of the harbour of Nieu, a beautiful little island between the Cooke Islands and Tonga. We were sooooo lucky to be able to get the last available public mooring thanks to the assistance of Rob from Bristol Rose and Mads and Ellen on Go Beyond got the last available fishing boat mooring. Not long after we tied up, a French Catamaran, Becoup or something similar came in and we let them raft up next to us and shared a few beers, rumbos and wines before getting to bed about 5.00am. We were happy campers to be on a mooring rather than having to find a place to drop the pick as the sea bed is littered with deep rocky gutters ... read more

It's been a long ambition of ours to snorkel with Humpback Whales and Niue Island is one of the few destinations in the world that you can 'legally' do this. Niue is located between Tonga and the Cook Islands. The Humpback Whales are only there from July to November, we went there at the end of July. We had to fly to Auckland and stay overnight then fly to Niue the next day, crossing the international dateline meant that we arrived in Niue the same day we left Brisbane! There is only one flight in and out a week from Auckland and one shipment a month. Niue is a small independent state perched on top of a sleeping volcano rising steeply from a 3000-4000m deep ocean. The tiny limestone island, about 23 by 18 km rises ... read more