Niue (more or less pronounced “Noo-way”) is a country that we’d never heard of before setting off across the Pacific. Located about 1500nm northeast of New Zealand, and around 300nm east of Tonga, the small raised coral atoll rises alone from the depths of the ocean. Limestone cliffs ring the vast majority of the coastline, with the landscape rising to a broad plateau about 200’/60m high. Depths around the island drop precipitously, and there are no well-protected harbors for anchoring.
The ~100 sq mi/250 sq km remote island was likely first settled by visitors from Samoa around the year 900, and the first European visit was made by the wide-ranging Captain Cook in 1774. Cook approached the island, and on his third attempt at landing on the rocky shoreline was able to step ashore at the small beach of Opaahi. Met by spear-carrying locals sporting red face paint from indigenous trees, Cook took the hint, only stayed long enough to claim the island as English territory before retreating to his ship, weighing anchor, and sailing away, never to return. He named the place “Savage Island”.
Ironically, about 100 years later the chiefs of the island petitioned Queen Victoria to come under the protection of the British crown. After some back and forth, the request was granted and Niue became part of the Realm of New Zealand; it stayed that way until 1974, when Niue was granted independence. Today, Niue is in “free association” with New Zealand – it’s an independent country but uses the New Zealand dollar for currency, and relies on its neighbor for all foreign affairs. After 1974, many islanders chose to leave Niue and emigrate to New Zealand. The population began a steady decline from ~5000 residents to the 1800 or so that currently live on the island.
Despite its small size, the island punches well above its weight in scenic value. The two-lane road that rings the island is peppered with “Sea Track” stops – each one is a path to the shore below the plateau, often with steps or ropes for assistance and usually with a fresh-water shower and garbage can at the top. Since the island is not protected by an outlying coral reef, the incessant wave action and tropical rain has carved caves in the soft limestone. And several narrow chasms cut into the steep coastline, each holding a fresh-water pool at the bottom.
The Niue Yacht Club (strangely named, as there are no yachts on the island) has installed a few moorings for visiting boats in the shallow bay off the main town of Alofi. These are in the lee of the island in normal trade wind conditions, but the land mass is not large enough to block all of the ocean swell. There is not even a dock for tying up a dingly, so the main wharf includes a public crane – both visiting sailors and local fishing and tour boats use it to lift boats in and out of the water at each visit to land.
So visiting Niue by boat means entering the weather lottery – in settled conditions the moorings can be comfortable, but any weather disturbance that includes wind or waves from west makes the moorings very uncomfortable at best, or dangerous at worst. Oso experienced both good and not-very-good weather while visiting the island, and we can confirm this would be no place to be in unsettled conditions.
But the rough anchorage is part of the overall Niue experience, and after visiting this place the Niue experience is one we wouldn’t want to miss.
