Niue Caves & Pools

For breakfast we sampled sausages. Since we left Grenada we’ve not seen a decent pork sausage until here. A couple of days ago we bought a couple of packets but have yet to try them. I was keen to find out if they were ok or not so I fried a few up for breakfast. They weren’t the very best but they turned out pretty good and low in fat which was even better.

Overnight there had been a lot of rain and we did wonder if it would be ok to press on with our touring of the island. Realizing the weather was quite changeable we went ashore and gambled on the weather improving as it did the day before.

Our first stop was to drop off our disk drive with one of the chaps we met the day before who worked in one of the stores. He turned out to have a few movies that we didn’t have and we certainly had a few he didn’t so we’d agreed to a swap. He’d even bought a brand new external disk drive to contain what we were bringing. Next we headed down the road to drop off our empty propane tank for a fill. Then we were off touring.

Our first stop was Palaha Cave. It was a short walk from the road before we reached the cave entrance. It looked reasonably impressive but not overwhelming at first. We did see that the cave bent around to the right so we figured we may as well scramble down and take a look. What a sight that presented itself to us. The small beginning opened up into a grand cave with amazing formations of stalagmites, tites and pillars. The other end of the cave was open to the sea.

In many places in the world with higher tourist volumes a cave such as this, if it was accessible at all, would be overlaid with walkways and barriers to keep visitors away from the soft rocks. Presumable due to the low volume of tourists coming to Niue (one flight per week + yachties) we are allowed to walk around and explore unhindered. This makes caves like this a lot of fun and very interesting.

Our next stop was for a swim in Matapa Chasm further up the coast. The chasm leads almost directly out to the sea. It is fed with fresh water that mixes with the sea water. We had brought our facemasks so we could swim and look around. The fresh water entering the chasm was a little chilly. Interestingly the salt water beneath was warmer so we had the odd effect of getting warmer when we dove down. Also, the mixing of the salt and fresh water created a blurred effect when looking through our masks. Diving below into the warm water got below this mixed layer showing the water to be crystal clear.

Without having to move the car our next stop was Talava Arches. This was a bit of a hike over a rough coral path. After our experience from the previous day we decided to wear proper shoes. After about 20 minutes we came to a small entrance in a rock face. It felt a bit like one of those books/movies where one goes through a small cave into a different world. Like the previous cave we were presented with lots of colourful erosion and deposition formations. The initial cave opened into an oasis of vegetation and grandness. Facing the sea there were several large arches. Inland we had cliffs with additional caves to explore. With the tide near its full ebb a large plateau of rock had surfaced upon which we could walk. At one end of this area was a pool with a striking blue colour.

After we’d explored this area we returned to the car. My feet, unused to shoes, were now blistering so as soon as I could I switch my shoes for my flip flops. Back at the car we stopped off at a small bar for some refreshing fruit juice before moving on.

Our next stop was Avaiki Cave near to our first stop. This was another short walk and again a walk through cave. This time the highlight was an amazing still blue pool inside and underneath a large overhang. Here there were many more deposition formations formed by countless years of water dripping through the rocks overhead. There was a hard to find passage that led us round to a balcony over the pool giving us a great look down and around.

By now we were hot, exhausted and ready for another swim. Our next stop was the pools at Limu. Here we met the Mariposas. These are outdoor natural pools with caves and arches into which one can swim. Like before, they were a mixture of fresh and salt water. Unlike before there waters were calm enough to allow the layers to settle in places giving a very unique visual experience. We started at the upper pools which were quite deep in places. Helen didn’t stay too long in the pool after she learned there were snakes in the water. Ben and I had a refreshing swim here. We returned to the lower pools where we’d met Terry and Andrew and swam there too. Being shallower they didn’t seem to be a good habitat for the snakes which allowed Helen to spend more time here.

We’d been promising ourselves Fish and Chips all day so it was now back to Alofi for a late lunch. Fortunately they had some left and soon we were tucking in. There is no cod down here so the fish they use turns out to be yellow fin tuna. All very delicious.

We next checked in on John with our disk drive. He was part of the way through copying and needed a lot more time so we agreed to leave our drive with him for the evening. Next door, in the computer shop, we bumped into John and Jennifer from Ile de Grace who were troubleshooting separate connection issues with each of their laptops. Having figured out similar on our setup I was able to fix both in short time. It’s good to still feel useful from time to time.

We next picked up our propane on the way to the dive operator which ended up being further away than we remembered. We wanted to talk to them about what we could possibly do. The lady there was only able to take our names as possible for Friday or Saturday. There is a dive called snake gully which Ben and I are interested in. Helen is not.

Our last stop was Sails Bar north of town where we relaxed with a couple of beers looking out over the sea hoping to catch sight of whales. The weather closed in and started to rain after a day of pleasant weather. We’d been lucky. They had their own sausage sizzle that night but we decided not to stay as we were tired and still full of fish and chips. We made our way back to the boat and chilled out the evening.

We’ve decided to keep the car one more day as there are still some places to visit on this unique island that we don’t want to miss. It also gives us a chance to visit the morning market on Friday before handing the car back.