American in Niue, part 4: The end of the holiday

Palaha CaveWednesday
We tried to sleep in as much as possible (with all the roosters crowing, earplugs are a definite help!). I had come down with a sore throat and cough, despite feeling fine on the trip from Auckland. We were personally asked about our health before we got on the plane- all the Niue passengers did. However, I am certain it was not swine flu (this is what they were looking to prevent), just a minor cold. I took a couple of a vitamin supplements, one called “Hairy Lemon” and the other from the US called “Emergen-C” I also had some pseudoephedrine/antihistamine with me, so taking that before diving helped keep my ears clear. I’m really glad that I brought along my fleece-lined, wind-barrier boat coat for whale watching on Wednesday.The whale watching trip was in the afternoon, with Dive Niue, who take out 6 passengers after scuba diving in the mornings. We were out on the water for about 3 hours, and we got some great whale interactions. I am really impressed by the operators of Dive Niue, they are professional and kind, well organized and hard-working. As the only dive operators on the island, you really don’t have a choice, so fortunately they are really good.
The weather was very nice- not too hot, so nice for walking around, but warm enough for swimming. The water is nice and warm too. I was concerned that the high surf would prevent us from our whale trip, but it wasn’t bad. Of course, the point of these boat trips is to fall out into the water to either scuba dive or snorkel. And when we got into the water, here is what we saw. This is my best whale photo, taken while it was surfacing to breathe. On Thursday, we explored some more caves. One of them, I won't even call a cave, had human bones in it, obviously very old bones. I didn't see any skulls or teeth so can't verify that they were human. Creepy yes, but in line with the common sight of graves along the road, in people's yards. Some of the graves are lavishly decorated and have roofs over them. These are in contrast to the sometimes shabby appearance of the homes (remember, there was a big cyclone in 2004). Along with the quiet, sparsely populated and rugged environment, the overall effect was a bit spooky. We loved it though. We went to the most excellent cave on the island, Palaha, and had it all to ourselves.Here it is from the water, and here we are inside of it. Early inhabitants used to live in the caves, and this one in particular is huge. We hung out there and read our books in the shade, listening to the surf. Thursday evening we had a dinner out. It was served buffet style and had a really good variety. We got to try the local land crab, "uga".
We had to fly back to Auckland on Friday, which was Saturday in Auckland. We would definitely go back there! It's no beach and sand island, but we loved the slow pace and uncrowded places. As I mentioned before, it is rough landscape, but very unique and special.

American in Niue, part 3

Monday
Our first dive day was Monday, and we met the boat at the Alofi wharf. As there is no harbor, boats are launched via a winch.

The inflatable boat takes four divers and one driver/divemaster. On the way to the dive site, we had dolphins cruise with us. We hooked up to a mooring ball near the Limu pools area and dove a site known as Twin or Two Caves. I was comfortable in my 3 ml neoprene with a beanie. The highlights of diving in Niue include the incredibly clear water and hence terrific visibility, and the caverns and caves. And the whales- during our surface interval, we watched a group of 3 beaching and spy-hopping, and saw another two that were approachable. Annie, our divemaster, got the boat in front of them and told us we could slip into the water with snorkel and fins. I didn’t see them at first, but then they came into view, out of the blue- right below me. It was so incredible to be in the same water space as them. The most visible one just sort of hung out below us for a good 5-10 minutes before swimming off. Our second dive was called Bubble Cave. You swim into a cave and come up above water into an enclosed cave. The structure was so interesting to swim through, and the water so clear, there was nothing to be scared of despite being surrounded by snakes swimming all around. They breathe air but live in the water, and are curious so they will sometimes follow divers around.

The other divers in the boat recommended the lemon cheesecake ice cream at one of the shops, so we had some to recharge after diving.

Tuesday
Our second day of diving departed from Avatele ramp, about 15 minutes south from Alofi. The surf was a bit larger today, and so it was good that our dive sites were relatively close. The first was Matavai Bommie, a small coral head, and the second was Snake Gully. Both sites had much more coral than the previous day’s sites, and also a wide variety of beautiful fish. Darin had his underwater video camera with him and got some great footage of the fish. Snake Gully was my favorite, because it had lots of fish and coral variety as well as a gorgeous cave and cavern. Not to mention lots of snakes! They are curious and not dangerous.
For lunch, Darin cut up the yellowfin tuna for sashimi, and I made rice- both eaten with soy sauce. We ate tuna again for dinner with one of the package pasta meals I brought along. Diving really tires you out, and I was coming down with a cold, so we watched a couple movies while here- Hancock, which was good except the ending, and Burn After Reading, in which Brad Pitt totally aced his role.

American in Niue, part 2

Limu Pools

Sunday:
The weather was gorgeous on Sunday. We attempted to find an inland cave, but were unsuccessful. We did find lots of big spider webs with huge spiders in them. I think the spiders may catch and eat butterfiles, because we saw lots of butterflies and large mummified prey in the webs. This definitely stopped us from off-road exploring.

Moving on to Limu Pools, we found we had this fantastic area to ourselves. This area is sheltered from the surf and so we snorkeled around for awhile. Because there is fresh water combining with the sea water, the visibility varied along with the temperature (the fresh water is cooler). We continued on to the starting point of the Matapa Chasm and Talava Arches, and ate our picnic lunch in the shade. We made a brief visit to the beautiful Matapa Chasm (in the photo below).We walked what felt like a long time to Talava Arches. The path there was over a lot of rough coral. We came to a cave which we had to walk through to get to the arches, and this was stunning. Crossing the reef at low tide to the sea cave on the other side of the arch, we explored inside. Two climbers arrived and climbed one of the arches, and this was impressive to watch. They said they’d come to Niue on their boat, and had been traveling since 2007. They requested that we take some photos of them, because their camera had broken. We copied them onto a USB drive and they copied them into their computer later. After our return back to Kololi's, we had a phone call from the dive shop to come and sort out gear for diving the next day.

Next post: scuba diving.

American in Niue, part 1

Friday:
We arrive in Alofi, Niue. There is one flight per week, leaving Auckland on Saturday and arriving on Friday. We are picked up by our lodging, Kololi’s Motel.

We drop off our bags in our fale (self-contained house), then go buy groceries. To save some money, I brought along some food: smoked salmon, turkey, chicken apple sausages, bacon, cheese, pasta sauce, granola bars, muesli, cashew nuts, salami, and coffee. I made pasta with a lemon cream sauce with smoked salmon for dinner. We had a nap before dinner, because we had to leave our home in Swanson for the airport at 6:30 am. I found that there was a concerning lack of salt and pepper in the cupboard, so I put that on the list of groceries to get Saturday.
Saturday:
We had a leisurely morning, waking up to the many cocks crowing and the chicks peeping, then falling back asleep. There are chickens all over, apparently running free and not belonging to anyone. Some of the hens have brought the chicks by our place for meals of bread bits, and there are 3 local cats that have suckered us into feeding them too. They are rather small, still kittens I suppose. One of them is quite sweet and social, with a good bit of white, who I’ve called Andy. They are not the cutest cats ever, but endearing, like the old dog who is very polite. None of the cats or the dog seem to trouble the chickens. Don’t they realize that chickens are delicious? The daughter of our hostess stopped by to give us a bunch of local bananas, which are the sweetest I’ve ever had.
Our lodging provided us with a car for $35/day, and we drove south from our accommodation to the Togulu sea track and the beach and wharf at Avatele. We stopped on the way at the Israel Mart, where we bought some drinks and frozen tuna (yellowtail). We visited with the owner there, and it turned out that he has family in San Diego, where we used to live. He was super nice and brought out some albacore sashimi for us to try. We had a collapsible cooler with us, so it stayed cold while we traveled on. My wish was to stop in Hakupu Village to go to Anapala Chasm, but the signage isn’t very clear, and we passed on down the ring road. We found ourselves at Togo Chasm, which is well signed, and spent a good couple of hours there. This place is a “must see” IF you are wearing sturdy footwear and in reasonable physical condition. The rocks are incredibly sharp. We ate our picnic lunch there. Though warm and humid, the overcast sky and occasional rain has kept the temperature quite tolerable.
We returned to our accommodation for a nap before heading out to the shops for a few groceries and beer. I made Mexican red rice with beans and salami, but was really pissed off by the apparent backwardness of the dials- the burner got red-hot when I turned it to low. But Darin saved the dinner by transferring the non-burnt bit into another pot to finish cooking. It turned out quite good, but then, what isn’t good when slathered with cheese? We considered going out to a bar to mix with the locals and other tourists, but decided to hang out in our cottage instead.

Niue information
Named the “savage island” by Captain Cook in 1774, the London Missionary Society came and established Christianity in 1846. Niue is independent, but in association with New Zealand, so uses NZ dollars and has a single flight to and from Auckland per week. The island has about 900 residents and Niueans have dual citizenship with NZ. Many Niueans live overseas. The island is not well developed for tourism, with only about 90 beds available, so it is very laid back and quiet. This is part of the appeal. Niue is in the same island group as Hawaii (Polynesia), but Niue’s highest point is just 70 meters/225 feet so the island is at risk if sea levels rise. Niue is a coral atoll that developed on top of a dormant volcano. There was a really bad cyclone that hit Niue in 2004, and many wrecked homes still stand as testament to the damage. There are 76 miles of road around the island, and to drive here you need to get a Niue driver’s license. This is the best Niue souvenir. I'll continue the trip diary in future blogs. Coming up next, scuba diving and whales.

The oldest profession

The first time I visited Springfield, New Zealand, the Simpson's movie donut wasn't there. In March 2009, it was back! I was so happy! (yes that's me waving from behind the giant foam/plastic pastry).

There's a bit of a row going on right now about prostitutes walking the streets in south Auckland. From the New Zealand Herald April 19, 2009:

Community group squares off with street prostitutes

A Papatoetoe community group is fighting to get prostitutes off the area's streets. While Manukau City Council has another crack at making street prostitution illegal, a community group is confronting street walkers and their kerb-crawling customers in a notorious red light area of south Auckland.
The Papatoetoe Community Patrol is trying to scare off prostitutes' customers at Hunter's Corner by breaking up their negotiations and warning them of health dangers.
"These people are unregulated. Some of them carry diseases, so there's a risk not only to the client but also the client's partner," patrol member Stephen Grey told Sunday News.
In just over a year, three members of the 15-strong patrol group have been assaulted and they've had to change their patrol car three times because prostitutes have lashed out with weapons, the newspaper reported.
"The cars we use get considerable damage on them," Mr Grey said.
"They take to them with rocks, take to them with shopping trolleys, take to them with crow bars, kick them, kick the tail lights in."
The group is also sending the prostitutes' clients letters, tracking them down through their car registration plates.
Prostitutes Collective national co-ordinator Catherine Healy said she found the group's actions "astounding".
"We're really upset this is happening," she said. "It's harassment. The men aren't law breakers, assuming they are seeking someone over the age of 16."
There had been similar action taken around the country, Ms Healy said, but this was the first time a "formal, organised group" had targeted street prostitutes.
Last week Manukau City Council's policy and activities committee decided to recommend the council seek amendments to the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 to make street prostitution illegal.
In 2006 a bill, sponsored by Manurewa MP George Hawkins, that would have given the council the same powers was defeated in Parliament.
A 2005 report by the Prostitution Law Review Committee estimated there were 423 sex workers in Manukau, of whom 150 were on the street. The report also found that street prostitution was the most likely entry point for underage people to the sex industry.
- NZPA

My comments:

I knew prostitution is legal in New Zealand, but had no idea prositutes were legally allowed to solicit on the streets, nor that there was a "red light" district in Auckland. I don't think I would want it in MY neighborhood. I feel a bit sorry for the residents, who are complaining about offensive trash, noise, and violence. None of the articles elaborate on what violence is happening(or if it is real), but the trash is said to be needles and used condoms (Herald article Apr 22). This blog post gives an interesting perspective with regard to migration. Having recently read the book A Crime So Monstrous, about slavery and to a large degree sex trafficking, I have expanded my thinking on the subject of prostitution. There are a lot of unanswered questions. I would probably feel more comfortable with it if I knew someone who did it, and was happy and well balanced. I can't help but think that prostitution seems like a pretty crappy job, and why would you do it unless you had to make cash fast. For the most part, the business is done very discreetly, and personally, I prefer it that way. At the same time, the secrecy and and independence of prostitution makes regulation more difficult.

Still, the model seems to be working. I suspect the "news" paper is covering the story of the annoyed neighbors because of the backlash against the old "liberal" Labor gov't (National is currently in power and more "conservative"). BBC news did a good article in March about the legal prostitution here, and puts it into perspective of some other countries.

On a more positive note, I'm dreaming of a trip to the South Pacific Island of Niue- a raised coral atoll with super clear, warm water and limestone caves. Plus, they use NZ money and speak english. It's tiny, only 1600 people live there, and few accomodations so it's never crowded. Darin and I attended an Australia travel expo last weekend, and we decided we want to go somewhere WARM in August (winter here) for our wedding anniversary. Cairns went onto the list, but the flight is expensive and about 8.5 hours! We could get cheap-ish flights to the east coast of Australia (Brisbane, Adelaide, "Goldcoast" and the like), but they are heavily promoted as tourist destinations. We're more interested in the independent adventure with a comfy bed.