After lots of exploring the caves and chasms by land in Niue, it was time to see it from another viewpoint. We booked our first dives with the Magical Niue dive shop and excitedly jumped in the water. All of the dive sites are very close to shore because of the steep topography of the island. But, what is impossible to see from on top of the water, is that there are a myriad of caves, arches, caverns, swim throughs, etc. deep underwater. Most of them you would never know were there if you didn’t have an experienced guide to show you.
Our first dive gave us just a taste of what was to come. (I think they were trying take it easy on us at first!) But, the second dive really tested your senses. If you have any kind of claustrophobia, these dives would not be for you. It certainly got my adrenaline rushing when we had to follow each other single file through a narrow chasm in the reef with twists and turns. When we got to the end, the first person had to swim over the chain to turn us all around. There was some light streaming in from up above, but I’m still glad I had my light with me. And, it also helped to see all the brightly colored soldierfish and squirrelfish that like to hang out in the dark crevices.
After our first two dives, we immediately booked two more dives for a few days later. As we were getting our gear on and listening to our briefing for this next dive, I got a little concerned when Rami, our guide, says he only takes experienced divers on this next dive. Uh, ok. Mike and I were the only two divers who did not have our Advanced or Rescue Diver certifications. But, I guess he saw us dive the last time and thought we were capable enough.
Rami explained that this dive would be a little intimidating. We descended to thirty feet over which there was large chasm in the reef. It was about fifteen feet long and three feet wide at its widest place. We were then to descend in this crack in the reef to 90 feet at which there is a large cave at the bottom. I have to say I was a bit intimidated at first, but then it was just amazing. At the bottom was a large cave that then opened up to ocean floor, so you could swim out the bottom of it. (Unfortunately, all my cave pictures came out dark and blurry!)
After swimming out of the cave, we swam through numerous other chasms and swim throughs in the reef until it was time to ascend and head to the next dive site. At the next dive, we were going to head into a true cave. It was low tide which meant the cave would be filled with more fresh water than salt water creating blurry vision and we all needed lights to enter.
We descended to about thirty feet and followed Rami as he disappeared under the rocks. After swimming quite a ways with rocks overhead and following the lights in front of us (since everything was blurry), I could see that Rami had ascended to the surface inside the cave. We all came up and looked around the large cave with our lights as there is no opening in the cave to let in natural light. Rami explained that coconut crabs often hide in this cave, but we didn’t see any this time. The fresh water on top was much colder than the warm ocean water. So, we didn’t stay too long and descended back down to exit the cave.
We followed Rami through many more chasms and openings in the reef. On this part of the island there was quite a lot of surge, so we weren’t able to go through some of the more narrow openings. At one point I was just hanging onto to a rock to keep from flying into the other divers. It was a bit amusing, but it meant the end of that chasm.
The underwater topography is truly amazing in Niue and nothing like we have ever seen. There are some nice corals and reef fish, but these dives are all about the scenery and underwater adventure.
Our time in Niue is starting to come to an end, but we’re trying to see if we can squeeze in one more dive before we have to leave here. Niue has seriously been one of the highlights of our time in the South Pacific, but we’re also looking forward to seeing Tonga next.
~katie
Nice photos 🙂 I just loved Niue. We dove independently a dinghy ride away from the mooring field, which was lovely, but didn’t do any dives with an operator. These caves would have had my heart roaring in my ears, but Neil would have LOVED them. You’re a brave duo! Truly, Niue is a special place. I hope you enjoy Tonga, too! The anchorage at Kenuto was my favorite. Be sure to do some of the dives there…and swim with the whales, if you can!! -Jessie
Omg! The pictures were breathtaking. I can’t believe how beautiful the colors are. I will continue to read every word you write and wait for the next pictures. Thank you for sharing your adventures with me. Love to you both!