Instant Reader Report
on Dive Niue / Matavai in
Niue / [N/A] on
2003/03
by
Ann & Dan Goldsberry , CO, USA
Report Number 030404215206578

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 Bahamas, Saba, USVI, BVI, The Three Caymans, Cozumel, Belize, Akumal,
Panama, Hawaii, Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, PNG, Maldives, Thailand,
Myanmar 

Dive Conditions

Be safe and have fun.  

Diving is done from hard-bottom inflatables. One can bring a camera and
they'll be glad to hand it to you and retreive it upon return.  There are
rinse facilites available after the few minute trip back to shore.  

Overall Rating

Niue is an island of uplifted coral so there are no beaches, but all
rainflows down into the island instead of entering the ocean as runoff. 
This means exceptionally clear water.  Poor visibility in Niue is still
well over 100 feet.  No beaches also means the inflatable hard bottom dive
boats are lowered into the water by winches as most of the island's coast
consists of dramatic cliffs.  The people are very friendly and helpful and
everyone, from the dive operators to the hotel staff, went out of their way
to make sure we were comfortable and taken care of. Niue is a totally
unspoiled island with a minimum 'touristy' development. It makes for a
holiday in a quiet and natural setting.

The diving consists mostly of close in sites with a wealth of caves,
chasms and swim throughs filled with crayfish and schooling fish.  One
cave, the Bubble Cave, opened up to a cathedral of stalactites above the
water. Ledges above the water in the caves frequently had sea snakes
taking a break from the water.  In fact sea snakes are prevalent on every
dive.  And on one dive, at Snake Gulley, snakes were so plentiful that
their behavior of returning to the surface for air left a curtain of
snakes in almost every direction.  The night dive at this site was quite
exciting as the snakes would constantly move into and out of view.  Diving
with the snakes at Niue was different than in Thailand or Myanmar in that
the Niue snakes are not
timid or easily spooked.  In fact they are curious and frequently follow
along to see what divers are doing. As in much of the South Pacific we
found many beautiful hard corals and a fair number of soft corals. 
Octopus, three species of lion fish, squadrons of squid, an occasional
anemone fish, blue ribbon eels, nudibranchs, bump-headed blue parrots,
three species of moray eels and the occasional white tip shark made every
dive a discovery.  And of course, being the South
Pacific there were the colorful giant clams, including baby giant clams. 
Oh, I almost forgot, there were schools of dolphin along side the
inflatable several times and in their winter whales are present right off
shore.

The water was virtually flat, though we were told this was the rough
season and the water temperature ranged from 82 to 84 degrees.

If you go, Dive Niue is the only operator and they're are great to dive
with.  Ian and Annie are ex-Mike Ball dive instructor trainers and trip
directors that we had dived with previously at the Great Barrier Reef and
in the Coral Sea.  Dive Niue usually does a two tank dive trip in the
morning, getting back just after lunch time.  They will do afternoon or
night dives on request and will even recommend the best days for it based
upon weather and tides.  They have a new gear wash and lock up facility so
you only lug your gear to and from the shop on the first and last day. 
They are a pleasure to dive with!

There are a handful of places to stay on the island that are quite
comfortable.  There are no luxury accommodations but one, the Matavai
Resort, has air conditioning and very nice rooms.  It also has one of the
better restaurants on the island.

Getting there is pretty much by Polynesian Air via Auckland or Samoa.
 

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