Allways Dive Expeditions

Niue

Niue sits atop an undersea mountain with pristine clear water hundreds of metres deep just metres from shore. There are no rivers or streams, rainwater filters through the coral structure of the Island, entering the ocean crystal clear and devoid of any silt run-off. Dives are into the open Pacific Ocean as Niue has no fringing reef or lagoon. These two factors mean that we seldom experience dives with underwater visibility less than 30 metres. Regularly we have 50 metres or more, especially during the calmer dry season, April - November. Water temperature is around 29C in January and 25C in August.

Within 100 metres from shore dive over canyons, through caves or visit drop-offs. A short coastal trip in our custom built inflatable takes you below the Coral Gardens Motel at ‘Namoui’. Here you dive over pristine coral ridges where we regularly encountering numerous turtles. A trip in the opposite direction takes you to the ‘Chimney’ where 5 metres below the surface you drop vertically 23 metres down a shaft then side exit through a large cavern to the open sea. All this within metres of land.

Avatele dives are a photographers dream both above and below water. We depart from a beautiful small lagoon used by locals to swim and launch their fishing canoes or ‘vaka’. Dive sites are close to traditional fishing grounds and in sight of The Matavai Resort with it’s sweeping views of the bay. Along with clear water, coral gardens and an abundance of colourful reef fish and frequent sightings of the timid Niuean sea snake, you may encounter pelagics, reef sharks or maori wrasse. If caverns are your interest then try our dive below Namukulu Motels, two enormous joined caverns you could park several buses in. From Alofi we swim out 100 metres and descend to a coral outcrop at 40 metres here we look over the edge of Niues undersea mountain, of course its called "The Abyss".

General Information | Matavai Resort | Niue Dive

GENERAL INFORMATION:

CLIMATE: Niue lies in the zone of the southeast trades. Av temp from Dec - Mar is 27 degrees Celsius, April through to Nov has an average temp of 24 degrees Celsius. The weather is generally pleasant all year round.

CURRENCY: The New Zealand dollar is legal tender. Depending on exchange rates you will get approx $1.20nzd for every $1aud.

DRESS: Wearing swimwear in villages and town is not accepted other than at the swimming area. Pareaus (sarongs) are often worn around swimwear in public. In general, tropical attire is recommended to suit the weather. Light weight cotton casual wear is most suitable, with warmer wear for the evenings during the June/July period.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: Australian passport holders require 6 months minimum validity on their passport. Visa's are not required for tourists staying less than 30 days.

HEALTH REQUIREMENTS: We recommend you seek the advice of your local doctor when planning your trip. Water is safe to drink, and bottled water is also available on the island.

LANGUAGE: Niueans are bi-lingual, speaking both Niuean and English

ELECTRICITY: is 240 volts

DEPARTURE TAX: Australian Departure Tax ($38.00) and Sydney Noise Levy ($3.40 for flights ex Sydney) must be prepaid and shown on your airline ticket.

MATAVAI RESORT
This magnificent Resort located on a clifftop, with a breathtaking 180 degree view of the blue Pacific is only 10 minutes from all major facilities and services on Niue.

The property has 22 Rooms, each with their own balconies, tea/coffee making facilities, and fridge. Other Features of the resort include its swimming pool, restaurant, conference room, gift shop, bar, ocean views, and free use of push bikes.

matavai

NIUE DIVE
Niue Dive runs half day dive trips departing from the Dive shop Monday to Saturday at 8.00am and returning at lunchtime. We do 2 dives at separate locations with an hour's surface interval in between. Single Dive trips and Night Dives can also be arranged. We also run snorkelling, dolphin and whale watching trips. We encourage our guests to swim with the spinner dolphins and humpback whales when the opportunity arises. Whale season runs from July to October.

The diving on Niue is very easy with virtually no currents, but its also very rewarding. Our sites are a mix of caverns and pristine hard coral reefs with a wide selection of tropical reef fish and marine life. Niue's own friendly sea snakes are a feature on the dives, along with barracuda, turtles, reef sharks and painted crays. We take a conservational approach to our marine activities - nothing is taken on SCUBA, we don't feed fish and we use moorings on our 10 regular dive sites.

Here are a few examples of some of our favourite dives:

Snake Gully - This site has it all - great coral, a lovely cavern, heaps of fish and more sea snakes than you'll see anywhere else - all in a depth of less than 20 metres (65 feet).
	The Fans - A beautiful garden of over two dozen Gorgonia Fans at a depth of 30-40 metres (100-130ft) The site also features a lovely wall of hard corals covered in reef fish. Pelagics including barracuda, tuna, trevally and sharks are often seen swimming by.
Marine Park - A site for those who love their coral big and beautiful - some of the healthiest plate corals you'll find anywhere in the world. More than a kilometre of pristine reef intercut with gullies - don't forget to look for turtles sleeping under the coral.
	Limu Twin Caves - One of the many great cavern dives around Niue - from a pretty reef top you descend into a world of light and shade, where schools of midnight perch hide in the dark and morays camouflage amongst the coral - you exit into the deep blue for a chance to spot ribbon eels and maybe a reef shark before plunging back into another cavern where lionfish lurk around the edges and a narrow tunnel takes you back into the first cave. Cavern addicts will also enjoy "the Chimney" with its painted crays and "the Bubble cave" (home of the stalactites).