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.We arrived at Niue on Thursday the 8th
early in the morning. The trip was fairly uneventful. Started off as a
magic ride, 15 kt wind on the port quarter, clear sunny skies and light
seas. We had that for a day, then it veered around to the south and we
were bashing into 6-8’ seas and 30 kt wind for the last 24 hours. No
breakages and it really wasn’t all that bad. A short trip, a bit of
badish weather, but it was fast and we were all well. Coming into Alofi
harbor, Sherry from Esprit called and said that her husband Bill and Marv
from Endurance would come and help us grab a mooring. We looked at each
other and laughed, help to grab a mooring. But of course it was easier
that way and they brought us a loaf of bread a papaya and some bananas
which were greatly appreciated.
The island is nothing to look at from sea. The
water is crystal clear but the island is a low lying rock with palm
trees. Lots of spray and blowholes on the South coast, but nice and calm
here on the west side, at least for this weather. The harbor is a bit of
a laugh. There is a wharf that is being lengthened by the US SeaBees but
you can see nothing really from shore. A few tanks, and a church on the
hill, but it looks as if there is nothing there. There is a crane to
hoist up the dinghies onto the wharf to protect them from the surge. Very
convenient and fun to use. Wally from Alofi Rentals comes down to pick up
laundry and give some introductory info. The entire island is good for
rides. There are more cars than people here, so hitching is good. In
fact we were walking back to the boat one day from the petrol station and
a truck stopped across the street offering a ride. We got in and he took
us all the way down to the wharf, without having to ask, very friendly.
The main street is pretty low key. A few shops,
especially in a little grass square. There is a tourism office offering
lots of information, a butcher with freezers full of good frozen meat.
Rib Eye steaks were about $4 (NZ) for 250 grams (about $4 US/lb). A
little stationary store sells ice creams, along with some groceries, and
there is a small café for your standard greasy food. The Island Trading
CO. LTD. Is across the street with videos for rent, a better selection of
groceries and a rather nice limited menu for lunch or dinner. There are
so few people and tourists there that the restaurants seem to take turns
opening. The Niue Hotel has a nice BBQ on Sunday night, and Gabe’s Eatery
has a famous buffet on Wednesday night. Ciao, the Italian restaurant will
cook pizzas on Friday if there are 4 or more people.
We rented a car from Wally and Mary at Alofi Rentals
for Sat and Sunday. They gave it to us after our bush walk on Friday and
charged $120 for the 2 ½ days for a Toyota van with seating for 9. It was
perfect. We took Thomas and Irene from Max and Thane and Coreen from
Shoktee around on Saturday snorkeling and caveing. It was really great.
The snorkeling was nice on the West side of the island. Some pools to
swim between, under some coral etc. Even Emma swam under the coral. Saw
some nice fish, sea snakes.
Sunday we went with Max only and went to the Tuvalu
Arch and a cave on the East side and then the chasm next to Tuvalu. There
are many villages around the island, mostly deserted. They look nice, big
central grass areas with houses around the perimeter and normally some
sort of community building. But the houses, mostly the same one story, 4
room design were about 75% vacant and derelict.
We decided to leave on Wednesday at two in the
afternoon. This meant missing the buffet at Gabe’s but that was ok. The
trip was uneventful. It took 45 hours or so. The start was fun. Max was
ready to leave at 2, the scheduled time. Dropped the mooring and motored
around us. We were scrambling to get ready. Sarah had done a dive that
morning and we I had been in to town with Bronwen to shop. We were
typically late. They left and waited for us about ½ mile out. No sails
or motor. Just sitting there. We caught up to them, staring through the
binoculars. “Are they in trouble?” “Nope. Just sitting there waiting.”
“I bet they raise sail as we catch up.” Then Douglas spotted the sock on
the foredeck and we knew what we would soon be exposed to. As we passed
they raised the chute and galloped forward, caught us in 2 minutes, took
some photos and charged on. The whisker pole was not set to my
satisfaction (Marine Texed that morning) so we made do with reaching off
with jib and main, stays’l and main, main alone, one reef, no reefs, two
reefs, off the wind, heading up a bit etc. We edged to windward and they
stayed on course DDW. Overnight, their masthead light disappeared over
the horizon. They gained the 10 miles right off the bat, and we
maintained that gap for the next 36 hours or so. Then another few miles
were added at the end as we were too far north, had waited one watch too
long to jibe to the south. It was a good trip. Fairly calm seas, nice
wind. |
