Niue is a very special place - isolated, spectacular scenery, crystal clear water, lots of hiking and delightful people - we loved it! I first heard of Niue in 2010 from Val and Gerry Lowdon of Vancouver (SV West by North), BCA Members who had been cruising since the early 1990's. I spent a delightful afternoon with them in the Canary Islands prior to leaving on my first trans-ocean crossing. Along with many helpful cruising tips, they told me about this intriguing island isolated in the middle of the Pacific and I knew we had to visit it. Niue is the largest raised coral atoll in the world - the karst topography is amazing. The island and coastline are peppered with caverns and caves. The water is the clearest we have ever seen - you can see the bottom clearly from your boat in 100ft of water and the colours are spectacular! The people are very friendly and English is spoken everywhere! The island just beckons to be explored. After the nine-day passage from Bora Bora it was great to see land again. We arrived on a Sunday, so were unsure if we could clear Customs; however, Niue Radio arranged for the Customs officer to meet us at the dock in an hour. We tied-up to one of the 16 mooring balls provided by the Niue Yacht Club and then proceeded to off-load our dinghy from the foredeck in preparation for going ashore. The dinghy dock in Niue is famous amongst cruisers - whilst passengers scamper up a ladder, the driver must attach the dinghy to the hoist and then scramble ashore; the dinghy is then hoisted up the side of the dock, swung over with a rope and lowered onto a trolley, which is then rolled to an available space on the dock and offloaded. The trolley and hoist are then re-positioned for the next arrival. One quickly learns to bring everything needed for the day, so that multiple trips are not required. This process can be easy or challenging, depending upon the sea state and tide level, but it is just part of the adventure and appeal of Niue. Rodney, our Customs officer, arrived and invited us into his "office" a a gazebo overlooking the anchorage. Rodney told us about life in Niue and some of its history while we completed the paperwork. Our friends, Russ & Gwen on A-Train (BCA Members, Vancouver) were just arriving from Maupihaa (Fr. Polynesia), so Rodney drove us around town and showed us the sights while he waited for them to get moored and ready for check-in. We ran out and picked them up to speed up the process and introduced them to the "dinghy dock procedure". That night we went out to Falala Fa Restaurant for their famous and delicious fish and chips to celebrate our passages and Pam's birthday. There is much to see around the Town of Alofi, including Captain Cook's Landing spot at Opaahi; a good grocery store for provisioning (Swanson's) with many New Zealand products; several very good restaurants, including the aforementioned Falala Fa, Kaiika, which serves the odd, but delicious combo of Sushi & New York Pizza (??!!), Gills Indian Restaurant (Roti at lunchtime), the Unga Café and several others; an excellent Tourist Office with maps, information and a brochure which even includes the tides (important for visiting some of the caves and snorkeling) and, of course, the Niue Yacht Club "the Biggest Little Yacht Club in the World" - we quickly became members of this exclusive club. The Niue Yacht Club is responsible for installing and maintaining the 16 mooring balls, as depths in the anchorage are from 70 ft to over 100 ft, you quickly appreciate their value. Gwen and Russ (A-Train) decided to rent a vehicle for a couple of days with us. The first day we had and 8-passenger van, so we invited Grant and Carly (Viandante) to join us. There is so much to see and explore on this island that one needs a vehicle for a minimum of two days. We started off from Alofi, travelling in a counter-clockwise direction, as the sites along the NW coast are best viewed at low tide and those on the SE coast could be done at any time; although some, like the Anapala Chasm, are better seen at noon with the sun high above you. We took along a picnic lunch, as we weren't sure that there would be restaurants available and this proved a wise decision. Our first stop was at Halagigie Point, where the waves pounded in against the cliffs in an impressive and wet display of the ocean's power. Our next stop was at Avatele Beach, the site of the Washaway Café (open only on Sundays). We had a great view back north to the waves crashing into the cliffs at our first stop. We continued round to the SE corner and our first "Sea Track" - to Anapala Chasm. This hike took us down into a spectacular chasm (over 150 steps) to a fresh water pool where we could swim and Grant enjoyed climbing up the cliff in his "magic fingers" shoes. Our n ext stop was Togo Chasm. This Sea Track took us down and across some amazing Karst topography , the equal of which I have only seen in Cayman Brac, to a viewpoint high on the cliffs, then down another long ladder to a beach. However, this beach was not at the seashore - it is isolated from the sea by a huge cliff, yet is complete with beautiful sand, sea shells and palm trees and only the smallest opening for seawater to enter! We continued north to the Hikulagi Sculpture Park - a work in progress, constructed using a multitude of discarded items, including telephones, licence plates, dolly wheels, room fans, engine parts, etc., etc. It was fun to see how creatively these disparate objects had been combined into an interesting sculpture. We stopped for lunch on the NE corner of the island at the Tauei Fupiu fort which was not much to see, but it had picnic tables and a great view. All along the coast we had passed many abandoned homes, reminders of the huge hurricane in 2004 which decimated the island. Despite the cliffs which are over 60ft tall surrounding the island, the winds were of such force that the waves stacked up against them and subsequent waves simply climbed up and over them. Many houses and businesses along the coast, the hospital, schools, etc. were all damaged. Canada played a vital role in helping Niue after this disaster - they funded a new roof for the school and funded 80% of the replacement cost of fishing boats for the fishermen of Niue, their prime industry. Niueans have not forgotten this kindness and we were proud to see how wisely our government had spent its money. Another interesting feature in Niue is the multitude of graves. Most homes have at least one grave and they appear all along the roads and into the forest all over the island. We understand that, in part, this is how families prove their claim to the land, even though they may be living and working elsewhere (mostly in New Zealand and Australia). Low tide was in the afternoon, so we could hike the Sea Tracks to the Matapa Chasm and the Talava Arches. The Matapa Chasm is a swimming hole which has a mix of fresh and seawater. This unique feature causes the snorkeller to think that something has suddenly gone wrong with their vision! Where the waters mix in the pool, it is like looking through pebbled glass. Grant could not resist climbing the surrounding cliffs and jumping into the pool, much to the delight of the spectators. Ted and I hiked alone to the Talava Arches and were rewarded with some spectacular caves and, of course, the arch. We completed our tour by walking into the beautiful Limu Pools; but as we had dinner reservations at the Matavai Lodge, the main resort on the island, we opted to swim in the pools the next day. A quick return to the boat to change and then back to the south end of the island for a buffet dinner and fire dance entertainment - a great end to a magical day. We rented a car for another two days, and Ted and I explored the central portion of the island and some of the beaches on the east side which we had not seen previously. On Saturday, we attended Village Show Day at Tuapa Village. Each month, one of the villages hosts a Village Show Day - an opportunity to showcase their talents, handicrafts, embroidery, local produce judging, flower arrangements, singing and dancing competitions and food stalls selling plates of BBQ meats and fish, salads and taro. Luckily, our timing was right to experience this. We had been advised to arrive no later than 8 AM, as the festivities started early. The BBQ's were well underway when we arrived, and the first order of business was to tour the various booths to view handicrafts and select a plate of food from one of the stalls for our picnic lunch. By 9AM, the food was gone and the formal opening ceremonies and speeches began, then the youth of the village performed a variety of songs and da nces. One odd custom we observed is that people wander through the dancers and stuff money into the costumes of their favourite dancers during the performance. The dancers carry on as if nothing is happening, except for the occasional smile as acknowledgment. We never did find out whether the money was to be kept by the individual performer or went to support youth activities. One cute young girl was performing a Polynesian dance solo, but her parents could not resist getting up there to dance with her and they just kept the music going and her dancing as long as the money was coming in!!! My personal favourite was a delightful performance given by the ladies who had made all the flower arrangements. They carried their flower arrangements and sang (in praise of flowers, I think) with beautiful smiles and voices while some of their group accompanied them on guitars. From the Village Day, we returned to the Limu Pools to snorkel the pools and through the arch to the outer reef. This was quite challenging at high tide with the big swells coming over the reef, not the benign pools we had observed the previous time at low tide. We carried on to the Palaha Cave - a dramatic cave with spectacular stalagmites and stalactites and views out to sea. We needed to wait until low tide to access the Avaiki Cave, so we toured around the island, visiting the Coral Gardens Hotel (site of the world's most difficult golf shot, which Russ had to try) and then a hydroponic gardening farm to purchase fresh tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber and watercress. Finally, just towards dusk, we hiked down to the Avaiki Caves. One has to walk out onto the flat lying reef and then back into the caves - the colours of the rock and water were just spectacular in the setting sun!!! (see the photos in the photo gallery). We departed Niue on Sept 16th in the company of A-Train, Fernweh (Germany), and Admitus (Austria) for the 2-day passage to Vava'u, Tonga. We have many wonderful memories of Niue and would recommend that anyone doing the South Pacific circuit include it in their itinerary.