Articles from this Category
10 June 2015
Above: Arriving at Port Vila airport. Making Vanuatu happen! I had written off the likelihood of visiting Vanuatu this year for their seasonal Nagol (land-diving). While in Niue, I had set my heart on doing another Pacific trip, choosing diving with the sharks in Fiji. Then I received an email from one of the travel […]
29 May 2015
Check-in for the 1445 flight to Auckland starts at 0900! Many Niueans check in then hit town. I took a more conventional timing with Brian dropping me to the airport at 1230. There was plenty of time to kill still and I ended up chatting with the Kiwi lady from Whangarei who gave me a […]
28 May 2015
As diving was off the menu today, I decided to re-visit the north-west quarter of the island today. I tried the bicycle at the hostel but it was a bit high for me. So I rented one from the Tourist Information Centre. I revisited the Avaiki cave but this time, I made sure I swam […]
27 May 2015
I was at the car rental office before 0800; they open at 0730. I was given a Mazda Premacy hatch for NZD50 (discounted from NZD55 as the A/C didn’t work). Having plotted out the key points of interest, I gathered that most of the sights that appealed were in the north-west corner. Some were best […]
26 May 2015
The flight from Auckland on 27MAY and landed on 26MAY after crossing the International Date Line. At Niue’s Hannan International Airport, we disembarked by stairs and were given big blue arrival cards to completed. I suspect the airline had run out of stock of thse in Auckland, so we had to fill them in on […]
8 March 2015
We were a bit worried about the weather impacting our flight back. We were told not to worry; I guess the locals can read the weather better than we can. We explored a bit more of the island by car today, taking in the Kaitoke hot spring which involved a scenic hike. By the time […]
7 March 2015
I woke up feeling like a brand new person compared to yesterday evening! I had more than 11 hours sleep instead of my usual 6! We spent the day exploring as much of the island as we could. Lunch at Port Fitzroy consisted of a delicious burger but the staff were dippy beyond reality. First […]
6 March 2015
Above: Flying to Great Barrier at low altitude. It was only a 30 minute flight from Auckland to the Barrier on a Britten Norman Islander. We left from North Shore Airfield rather than Auckland Airport, not only because of the proximity to our home but also to avoid parking hassles/costs at a big airport. Due […]
25 January 2015
We checked in at the office of Pee Jay White Island Tours in the morning and paid for our trip before heading to the boat. The 90 minute journey to White Island started with us leaving the Whakatane River going past the sandbar (which can due to tidal conditions determine the departure time). As we […]
10 January 2015
This morning, I got a rental car for AUD20 today from my hotel and drove to various points of interest on the island. There isn’t a ring road due to the topography so there was a little bit of backtracking. I soon noticed that everyone waves when you’re driving around! The scenery and buildings seemed […]