Snorkelling in Niue’s crystal-clear waters in Limu Pools. Photo / Niue Tourism
From dramatic coastlines and cathedral-like caves to reef pools teeming with tropical fish, roadtripping around Niue is an unforgettable adventure, writes Brett Atkinson.
Embark on a South Pacific road trip around Niue, exploring a craggy coastline of sea caves, reef pools and natural swimming holes. Pack reef shoes or waterproof sandals, bring along a sense of adventure, and be ready to offer a discreet wave to every person and car you see along the route. It’s the Niue way.
Begin your Niuean road trip in downtown Alofi, quite probably the world’s smallest and sleepiest national capital. Fuel up with coffee and breakfast at Crazy Uga’s clifftop location and see if any visiting yachties are anchored in the bay below. After meeting the friendly team at the visitor information office, you’re good to go. Definitely ask about the best tide times to visit various locations around the island.
Shaped like a natural cathedral, Avaiki is named after the legendary Polynesian homeland, and is where Niue’s first settlers landed. Follow the sea track from the road through a narrow fern-lined gorge to a beautiful pool – ideal for a cooling swim – before continuing to the edge of the reef. Studded with stalagmites and stalactites, nearby Palaha Cave has a natural window framing the Pacific’s endless horizon.
Limu’s two pools are quite different. Ease into the right-hand pool for a sheltered swimming experience – there are also picnic tables and plenty of room to stretch out on the rocks – or venture to the left for tropical fish, waves washing in from the nearby reef, and a unique underwater blurring effect created by the mixing of cool spring water and warm sea water.
When you return home, Hikutavake is probably where you’ll talk about the most. Two bowl-shaped reef pools sit on the edge of the reef, packed with tropical fish, and sometimes hosting sea turtles and (benign) reef sharks cruising in a tangled kelp forest. One pool forms a sublime natural aquarium 10m deep and 25m across. Bring a mask and snorkel and visit around low tide.
Just past Hikutavake, you’ve got a choice to make. From the carpark, follow the left-hand fork through the forest to Matapa Chasm. It’s only a five-minute stroll to the slender chasm – shaded, cool and sheltered, and a private swimming spot for Niuean nobility in earlier centuries. Have yourself a royal time easing into Matapa’s gin-clear water.
Venturing down the right-hand fork, it’s a walk of around 1km to the Talava Arches. It’s a journey taking around 20 minutes through a more uneven terrain of limestone and sharp coral. Also framing the horizon, twin arches sit at the edge of the reef. Shimmy down a rope on the final section to explore caves used as lookouts to warn of raiders in earlier times. Bring along a torch and note the caves can be slippery.
Heading up and around Niue’s northern tip, don’t be surprised if the island’s less-sheltered eastern coast is more wild and windswept. Walk for 20 minutes through the Huvalu Forest Conservation Area to reach Togo (pronounced ‘Tong-Oh’) Chasm. The final section of the trail is through a jagged grove of grey-blue coral pinnacles, often blending with an indigo horizon energised by South Pacific whitecaps. Descend a rustic wooden ladder to the sandy base of the chasm, dotted with palm trees like a Middle Eastern or North African desert oasis, and soundtracked by the roar of the ocean crashing through nearby sea caves.
Near the village of Hakupu, around 150 steps descend from the sea track through an improbably slim ravine to Anapala’s freshwater pool. In earlier centuries, it was used to ceremonially anoint Niuean royalty and was also a source of drinking water for local villages. Now the cool and crystalline waters are one of Niue’s most bracing places to swim. Keep an eye out for uga (oong-a) coconut crabs scurrying through crevices in the rock.
With Hio to the north, Avatele’s compact stretch of sand is one of Niue’s only beaches. Pronounced “Ava-Selly”, it’s popular for snorkelling around low- to mid-tide, and local fisher-folk also launch their canoes from the beach. Sunday’s a good time to visit, with welcoming church services in the morning, and afternoon drinks at the Washaway Cafe. Welcome to the South Pacific’s only self-serve honesty bar. It’s an essential Niue experience. Great grilled fish sandwiches, too.
Just past the Scenic Matavai Resort, a good place to stop for a drink or a meal, the Matafaga i Anaana Lookout has stellar views along Niue’s more sheltered west coast. Keep your eyes peeled for humpback whales, regular visitors to the island’s warm waters from July to October. From the lookout, it’s around 7km north to Alofi to complete a loop of the island.
