What an amazing little island, sadly
decimated following a cyclone Heta 4 years ago – with an ever decreasing
population ( now circa 1200) But what a welcome , Keith from the Yacht Club,
supported by Harry, Jim & Momatra could not have done more to make our
visit more special – from greeting us on the radio on our arrival to
seeing us off last thing last night ( complete with a CD of photos they took of
us !) – they were never more then a few min away with help and advise
– ranging from where to go for walks ,to eat , and to buy that ever
important duty free grog (£10 for a 1L bottle of Bombay Sapphire –
47%proof ) and even a tour of the government buildings.
While enormously funded through the New
Zealand government – Niue – has a culture all of its own – a
very laid back English speaking island in the middle of the pacific –
with a supply ship that visits once a month and one flight every week ( to
Auckland) – Everyone says hello to you , within 12 hours of arriving we
felt we knew most of the locals in Alofi – the capital – also the
only village with any shops .
Arrival by dingy is a fun experience
– and requires commando style exit timed with the swell along the quay
wall – followed by hoisting your dingy with the local electric crane
–- unless you fancy swimming ashore. Night time entry is not recommended
– while visiting we awoke to find a boat from Estonia washed up on the
reef (later successfully towed off by the “government launch”)
– FYI they maintain as a result of contaminated fuel obtained in
Rarotonga .
A lot of fun awaits the rest of the WARC
fleet, sadly K8 has to press on to Tonga .
We did some fun things aside from spending
time in the yacht club bar.
Getting a local driving licence ( as a
member of the UN it is good the world over ) and only costs NZ$10 , some great
walks and swims – Hired a minibus for $NZ50 a day. And caught up with our
mail via the wifi while at the mooring . I’d like to write lots of nice
things about Niue Dive – but they insisted on a “Paddy
Licence” (apparently an Irish Passport is not enough) – But Adrian
enjoyed himself - and said they were very professional. Me thinks a PADI course
in Fiji is on the cards ! Shopping is so so - but good NZ frozen meats and
very friendly - don’t expect Sainsbury’s, however we ate like
kings in the Indian ( Gill’s) , and the Fish and Chip shop – would
beat any F&C shop in the UK . in addition to working off the calories on
some very scenic walks – ask Harry how to get to the ToTo oasis –
if there hasn’t been a v big storm - a greeting awaits you from K8.
Next up Tonga - as I write we are surfing
down 30 knt winds –thankfully well behind us and will be somehow crossing
the international dateline – where we will win the ultimate in golfing
longest drives - by hitting balls into tomorrow !
finaly we can all say –Come On Tonga