Being a tourist in Niue

It is amazing how each place we visit is so different. We rented bikes & cycled up the island. Zeke had the Limu pools in mind for our first stop as it was recommended we visit the pools at low tide when we got our information from the very friendly lady at the information centre. We arrived to find there were people already in the pools. We donned our snorkelling masks and we were off. We immediately discovered that there were cool spots where the fresh water was coming in. Interestingly enough the mixing of the fresh water with the salt water made for poor visibility with the turbulence and the 2 different types of water trying to form one. The fish were spectacular as was the erosion of the limestone that makes up the island. 

Here I am in the Limu pools under an arch. 

We then had a short ride to the start of the walk into both the

Matapa Chasm which was a 7 minute walk in. Apparently you can jump in from one of the sides. We could here the surf crashing at the other end of the Chasm. We returned to the starting point and then took the 30 minutes trail to the 

Talava Arches. You can see arch taken through an arch in this photo. At low tide you are able to walk to the arch. While there we explored some caves in behind. 

There were stalagmites and stalactites that had met to form a column. This was pretty cool and great to explore. Just before arriving at the arches we had to go through a cave 

Here I have my hand on a stalagmite that is very smooth and I'm leaning against a column. On our bike ride home we stopped at Sails Bar. It has a gorgeous view out onto the ocean and it's claim to fame is 

The World's toughest golf course Par 1, 96.5 metres

Here is the tee box and you can see the pin

Here is a better view of what you are really facing to get there. While we were in Nuie we had to hoist our dingy out of the water when we got to shore

They had a fishing competition while we were in Niue

Here was the larges fish caught the day we were there to see the weighing. 76 kilograms. It is a bluefin tuna. Another use for the hoist that we used to lift our dingy out of the water. 

Check out the captain of No Regrets blog

I know I've been delinquent in posting blogs as of late. I will try to catch up. In the meantime please visit our boat No Regrets captain's blog and check out all the photos. Some with me in them. My goodness indeed. Go to the right. Click on Zeke's blog. To see where we are click on the 2nd link.

Niue

Our passage from Maupiti to Niue took 7 days. The first few days we had light winds and No Regrets traveled along at 6 to 7 knots. When the wind was blowing from behind we put up the spinnaker which is a parasail. 

The last two days the wind picked up and the last night we took down the main sail and had only part of the jib up to slow down so we would not arrive in the dark. We were still traveling 6 to 7 knots in 22 to 25 knots of wind. 

Niue is a raised atoll made of limestone and is 10 miles (16 km) long. Upon arrival we checked in with customs. We then went to the tourists information and got great information on what to visit and where to get what we needed. We then toured the town visiting the Niue Yacht  Club (the biggest little yacht club with 1700 members) and there are only about 1000 residents on the island. 

Yesterday we walked to several sea tracks and saw some spectacular caves. 

We got a flavour for the island and the town of Alofi. The people are extremely friendly with many stopping to ask if we wanted a ride and offering good information on what to see. 

Pictures

No Regrets with cliffs of Maupiti in the background. Note the moon beside the cliff jut below the first notch from the bottom. 

The fish I caught that we enjoyed 

View from the top of the mountain on Maupiti. No Regrets is the boat on the left and the pass is between the two islands above the three peaks. 

I'm about to head up the mountain at 6:45 AM. 

I climbed to the peak which is the left one of the two tiny bumps at end. 

It doesn't get any better than this!

Just finished filleting a 8 to 10 pound tuna which we caught at about 3:30PM.  Perfect time to allow time to fillet it and have it fresh for supper.
This morning I was up before dawn and at 6:45 was on my way to climb the mountain at Mauipiti.  A 15 minute walk along the road and then it took me 1 hour to reach the top.  The views on route were spectacular and once on top they were breath taking.  You will have to wait until I am off the boat and have internet to see the pictures. I had a 360 degree view.  I was back at the dock an hour after reaching the top after getting off the path by mistake on the way down and having to bushwack for a while to find the path.  I chose to do that rather than climb back up to where I knew I was last on the path.  I had company on the trip.  A dog came up the mountain with me and kept me company. I met a couple coming up about 10 minutes from the bottom.  The lady was giving the dog lots of scratches and I never saw the dog again so I'm sure he went up for a second time with them.
Zeke and Bill were just about to leave the dock when I arrived at the dock at 9:05.  We got the dingy lifted, took the motor off and were ready to leave by 10.
The winds were light but have picked up to 12 to 13 knots and we are sailing along at 7 knots.

The skies are blue with a few billowy clouds. The boat is not rocking too much and we are all looking forward to a tasty fresh tuna dinner.

On my way back to the boat

A lot has happened since my last post. We arrived in Tahiti (Papaetee to be exact).  I had been asked to leave Maggie so in checking my options I discovered it was cheaper to purchase a return ticket than a one way ticket. I spoke to all the boats who were continuing with the BPO to determine if any of them might need crew in the future. No one saw such a requirement. I was asked to sail one of the boats back to Seattle area via Hawaii. As I don't have captain's papers I asked them to insure the insurance on the boat would be valid if I was to deliver it back to Seattle. I was told by one of the boats that they were aware of someone who may be looking for crew & they would introduce me in the morning. We had an early BPO meeting to finalize the route the BPO was to take. Following that meeting it was determined that one of the owners of No Regrets would not be returning in Bora Bora as expected. I was asked to join No Regrets in Bora Bora. 

I'm on my way to Bora Bora now. 

In the meantime I flew back to Calgary where I met Barb and visited with my kids & grandkids. After a few days in Calgary we travelled through the mountains on a beautiful clear day with these beautiful sites 

Castle Mountain with some snow on it 

Mount Temple on the right over 11000 feet. 

Lake Loiuse in all it's glory 

Going over kicking Horse Pass

Rogers Pass 

I had lots of work to do while at home & then we were headed back to Calgary for more visiting with kids and grandkids. My mother arrived in Calgary on Tuesday and we had a wonderful visit. 

Papaetee

While in Papetee prior to coming home we had many meetings to gain consensus on the route the BPO would take for the rest of the round the world trip. We also attempted to accommodate those who wanted to spend longer in certain places. It was determined that we would spend longer in Australia to allow those who wanted to spend more time there the opportunity. The BPO will spend 3 months in & around Thailand out of the cyclone zone. This will allow for longer trips inland to Thailand or China or to New Zealand by air. From there the BPO will travel to Sri Lanka and then past Madagascar to South Africa and around the Cape. Then on to St. Helen and on to Brazil where they may do a trip part way up the Amazon. The BPO will then continue to the Caribbean. 

Along with the meetings we enjoyed being docked right in the centre of Papetee. We enjoyed the new park along the waterfront. We also enjoyed the baguettes & the French cheeses and the food and tourist trap open air markets with all their wares.  

The BPO boats had an official welcoming to Papetee  from the Port Authority. This was following a great talk on the Society Islands and dancing by local native dancers. We had a fabulous party afterwards where we were able to mingle with the local dancers and other cruisers who had joined the festivities. 

We also enjoyed the food trucks that were parked about half a kilometre from the marina. I was fortunate enough to visit with a group of 16 to 21 year olds who were part of a government program to help them identify opportunities for employment or entrepreneurial endeavours. Some of them were looking for material for puppet shows they would do for younger kids during their school break. We explained with Luc as interpreter what it was like to make the passages we had already made, how the BPO was helping to make the world aware of climate change and the activities we had done to help facilitate that. They also wanted to know what it's like to live on a boat. We also showed them the route we had take and the places we had seen. I showed them the rest of the planned route. That night I was on a plane back to Calgary.