Niue
Last night we crossed the International Dateline heading east, so we set our clocks back 24 hours and today we relived the 19th of September. One of our guests even re-celebrated her birthday! The rest of us took full advantage of this unique opportunity to pack two full days of activity into the passage of a single date by visiting the island nation of Niue.
We approached Niue at about lunchtime in very good conditions with only a light swell lapping at the base of the vertical bluffs that ring the island. Heading ashore we split up for a number of different options including golfing, bird-watching and an island tour. Our Niuean hosts were very welcoming and all of us enjoyed the time ashore, whether we were knocking small white balls around, staring through binoculars or visiting the infamous Noni factory.
While most guests were ashore, the divers visited the portion of Niue just below the tideline. Setting out with Ian, a local dive guide who hailed from Australia, we descended over a rocky slope and made our way into a beautiful little cave. This dive site is called the Bubble Cave, because divers are able to surface into an air-filled chamber deep inside. With our ears popping and dense mist appearing and disappearing around us from the pressure effects of the swell outside, we looked around at the lovely cave formations and spotted a sea snake resting on a ledge above the water.
Niue is famous for it’s sea snakes, an endemic species known as the Niue krait. Like all sea snakes, this animal is a reptile that must occasionally surface to breathe air, and like all kraits it must also leave the water to lay its eggs. This makes the bubble cave an ideal place for them and we were told that earlier in the year, during the laying season, as many as forty can be found in the cave together. Kraits are extremely poisonous but very docile and we enjoyed watching the lovely undulating swimming motion of the ones we encountered.
By evening we were underway again, enjoying our memories of Niue and looking forward to the 20th of September.
Last night we crossed the International Dateline heading east, so we set our clocks back 24 hours and today we relived the 19th of September. One of our guests even re-celebrated her birthday! The rest of us took full advantage of this unique opportunity to pack two full days of activity into the passage of a single date by visiting the island nation of Niue.
We approached Niue at about lunchtime in very good conditions with only a light swell lapping at the base of the vertical bluffs that ring the island. Heading ashore we split up for a number of different options including golfing, bird-watching and an island tour. Our Niuean hosts were very welcoming and all of us enjoyed the time ashore, whether we were knocking small white balls around, staring through binoculars or visiting the infamous Noni factory.
While most guests were ashore, the divers visited the portion of Niue just below the tideline. Setting out with Ian, a local dive guide who hailed from Australia, we descended over a rocky slope and made our way into a beautiful little cave. This dive site is called the Bubble Cave, because divers are able to surface into an air-filled chamber deep inside. With our ears popping and dense mist appearing and disappearing around us from the pressure effects of the swell outside, we looked around at the lovely cave formations and spotted a sea snake resting on a ledge above the water.
Niue is famous for it’s sea snakes, an endemic species known as the Niue krait. Like all sea snakes, this animal is a reptile that must occasionally surface to breathe air, and like all kraits it must also leave the water to lay its eggs. This makes the bubble cave an ideal place for them and we were told that earlier in the year, during the laying season, as many as forty can be found in the cave together. Kraits are extremely poisonous but very docile and we enjoyed watching the lovely undulating swimming motion of the ones we encountered.
By evening we were underway again, enjoying our memories of Niue and looking forward to the 20th of September.
