Style: February 07, 2020
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STYLE | travel 83<br />
A royal bathing spot, Avaiki Cave is a place to discover the wide range of different-coloured corals and imagine life as a king or queen.<br />
Keith and Sue have been operating<br />
Niue Tours for several years, and they<br />
provided us with their helpful visual<br />
guide (niuetours.com).<br />
During the four-hour tour, we<br />
stopped at many of the action spots<br />
on the west side of the island, making<br />
time for walking and snorkelling.<br />
Keith kindly lent us gear we could<br />
keep for the entire 10 days. We<br />
thought about discovering Niue on<br />
our own but were so glad to have this<br />
introduction to Niue’s environment<br />
and society.<br />
An early highlight was Ana’ana<br />
Point, where we got close to the<br />
spectacular show of sea spray from<br />
the blowhole. Here we got our first<br />
glimpse of ancient coral fossils and the<br />
sharp limestone rocks that make up<br />
the island.<br />
Matapa Chasm, originally the bathing<br />
place of kings, was our first snorkelling<br />
adventure. This pool is deep, full of<br />
colourful creatures and great at any<br />
tide. The sea track down to the chasm<br />
is steep and rocky, winding through<br />
bush and opening into an amazing cave.<br />
‘‘An older woman fell here on one<br />
of my tours,’’ explained Keith, ‘‘and<br />
injured herself badly.’’<br />
I declined his offer of trekking<br />
poles, feeling confident in my new<br />
walking shoes.<br />
At this chasm, cool freshwater and<br />
seawater mingle, providing a refreshing<br />
swim in the heat. We quickly honed<br />
our snorkelling skills and rejoiced,<br />
while scrabbling over rocks, in the<br />
reef shoes we had brought with us.<br />
The coral is sharp! We were warned:<br />
‘‘Wounds will fester in this heat.’’
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