Niue - Cook Islands
05 August 2012
John
Later today we will depart for Vava'u Tonga , which is about 250nm from our current location here at Niue - Cook Islands
We have enjoyed our brief stay here - 3 days. Niue has a population of just 1625 people and is I am told the smallest country in the world, just 259 sq kilometers in area. The citizens of Niue like those of Palmerston island and all of the Cook Islands are also citizens of New Zealand.
Niue `s rugged coastline is very scenic and whilst there are no sheltered anchorages there are mooring that are operated by the Niue Yacht Club on the western side of the island right off the town of Alofi. The moorings are well maintained and removed every year in the off season to preserve them.
Alofi consists of a few shops , bakery , police station and restaurant's and whilst it is not flashy by any means it is a friendly place with a comfortable atmoshphere and the locals are welcoming and friendly.
To go ashore from the boat you have to take your tender along side the wharf and when everybody except the driver has climbed the ladder onto the wharf you the attach the tender to a crane , scamper out of the boat onto the wharf and winch the boat up on top of the dock where there is a trolley provided so that you can wheel it away from the crane area . This is a bit daunting at first as the swell rolls in and you have to time your departure onto the wharf pretty well.
We along with our aussie mates from Fremantle Western Australia, Peter & Cheryl of S.V Stolen Kiss hired a car for just $50.00 NZD for the day and toured the island.
It was a great day . The annual fair was on so we visited there and wandered around the food and craft stalls. We then continued our tour . There are many chasms , caves and little beaches dotted around the island many of which have paths leading to them and ladders and or steps into the chasms and down to the sea pools the beauty of which had us all saying WOW more than a few times. The photo`s in the gallery will give you some idea of just how stunning the scenery and the coastline is. Sadly Niue was devested a few years back by a fierce cyclone which destroyed many homes. Some have never been rebuilt and the ruins remain to remind us of how exposed these folks are to the elements. There were quite a few families that lost everything and have not since returned to Niue.
We are again really pleased that the weather allowed us to visit Niue and recommend those who are in our wake make the stop if they can.
So that's it for the Cook Island for us ----- Tonga here we come !