Day 54: (6 July 2011 (-1 in time zone)):
- Wake up ~6 for market day (Tue & Fri). Still dark outside, but market busy.
- Nane: goopy, bit bland. Ate all, but definitely had enough. After so much talk of nane, was just one woman with a large pot of it. Not many vegetables. Some crafts. Pretty small market.
- Nap.
- Bike to Ana’ana slowly, look for phone. No phone, dolphins or whales. Sit & watch ocean for a while looking for ocean life. See reef shelf. Clear water. Slow search back. Wave to cars, people & workers @ quarry.
- Talk to older women. Marion decide go look for mystry sea track (Houme, or something like it). Only show up on old LP. Ira say never heard of it, suggest sea track @ Coral gardens.
- My bike is speed limited due to no high gear in front, misaligned. Otherwise, well oiled & good. Still, I go good speed compared to Marion.
- See the sign (on way) just by Catholic Mission as described. Trail head by a house. Walk leads to nice cove, but no sign of chasm. Follow small side trail, just goes to houses.
- Stop @ Coral Gardens. Meet the guy there, as indicated by Ira. He lives in Akl, but help here during busy season. Straightforward & dry (humour) sometime.
- Had $6.50 (rather than $3.50) beer. Share with Marion. Nice outside are overlooking ocean. Gardens amongst coral rocks: coral gardens? According to guy, not very interesting sea track. Take look, down cliff, not sure if all the way down, so just take look at the good view & waves breaking on reef below. More clear water. See Coral below.
- “World’s toughest golf course” sign.
- wait 1.5 hr for internet (free), Marion use. Chat to tourists, seen before. ½ hr e-mail (slow internet).
- I continue north. Pass Marion: there is a weaving demo today.
- Pass Avaiki, go to Palaha. Concerned when pass Tuapa sign (not expected, according to map), but traihead before village green.
- Nice grass path lined with trees before stairs down.
- Reach cave entrance. 2/3 - decker cave. Walk between holes along ridges, as usual in the caves.
- Nice opening to ocean. Large columns, stalagtites & stalagmites. very big & intimidating. However, not as impressive as LP seems to imply. Take much less time than expected.
- Decide go past Avaiki & do Makefu sea track. Nice village green. Road through grass. Stairs down to reef, but can’t see much there, so go back. Boats. Apparently waka/vaka oy Niue build differently & with different materials, so light & can be carried by one person.
- Finally, go to Avaiki, hope tide is low enough now.
- Short track until caves. Coral calls before. 2 ppl exit caves, look like couriers. See before? Tell me about swim hole in main cave & that tide is low enough.
- Cave is large, quite spectacular. Stray off track 1 or 2 times. Stairs. Large columns, stalagmites & stalagtites. Older ladies told me this place very popular: They loved it & stay 45 min, a family was there during their visit & a couple arrived as they left.
- Put on reef shoes. Walk on reef to right. Big cave. Another cave to other side, but higher up.
- The main cave is absolutely stunning. When see it, thought “are you kidding me” This place doesn’t exist.” Formations like organ on balconey, clear blue pools below filled with coral & fish.
- Quick snorkel, but watching from outside water just as good. Some of the long fish hiding in back. Very sharp rocks, had to walk around.
- Lion-fish like thing under a step near where I entered the pool. The electric blue fish.
- See two quiet girls coming when exit cave. See them later & at airport too.
- Still some time after Avaiki, so try visit the H... sea track again t o try find chasm. Tide much lower, walk out on reef this time. Nice colours as sun getting low, but still no chasm. Clear water & urchins.
- Wound getting rubbed by reef shoes, getting tender when return.
- Visit Utuko reef, just by backpackers (beside Crazy Uga). the German lady there with her friend. German pointed out when snorkelling -> I lean over edge, see lots of colourful fish under the overhang created by coral along pool edge.
- Nice spider web at Utuko: the typical upside-down bowl webs there. Try to photogragph.
- Shower & get clean after sweaty day. Get ready for the island night.
- Nice sunset from kitchen. (A postcard Alexa is of sunset through glass shutters).
- Songs from dance practise throughout shower & sunset nice. Ira goes to the practise. Alexa cent once too.
- Join Ira, Brian, ladies & Alexa for drinks before dinner. I got Leigh downstairs. Turns out we just brought our glasses over. Run back across road for refills. I drink too much that night.
- Nice buffet. Uga soup mostly run out when I get there. Salted beef lu (?) good. Lasagne surprisingly good. 2nd plate: filled with sashimi & marinated raw fish. Mango slice with ice cream (Ira ordered for me while I refill drink) for dessert. Chocolate for Alexa.
- Show is by kitchen & restaurant staff. only 3 main dancers. Apparently very few do Niuean dance now, now mostly like “Hawaiian.” High schools still do traditional dances. Moves are recent creations: piece together traditional moves to songs. Avi (?) the guy dancer; Alexa knows from 3 yrs ago.
- Return, talk about a Fijian cleaning up, wonder if is the CSer. Naisoni sounds familiar to Ira, but apparently they have both Fijian & Niuean names. Ira hear of CS from older girls earlier in evening.
- I go sleep, Alexa keep chatting with Ira.
Photos available at: http://marklitraveljournal.blogspot.com/
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