A single, 264-square-km island, Niue is one of the world's smallest self-governing states (in free association with New Zealand).
It stands alone 560 km southeast of Samoa, 386 km east of Vava'u, and 2,400 km northeast of New Zealand. The name comes from niu (coconut tree) and e (behold) and is pronounced NEW-way.
This little-known island boasts some of the finest coastal limestone crevices and chasms in the South Pacific, all open to visitors and freely accessible. Each is unique—you'll need at least a week to do them justice.
Niue is for the explorer who likes to get out and make discoveries on his or her own, for the skin diver in search of clean clear water brimming with coral, fish, and sea snakes, and for those who want to relax in a peaceful, uncommercialized environment among charming, friendly people, without sacrificing creature comforts.
Niue is perhaps the most unspoiled main island in the Pacific—it's an island of adventure.
[Extract from Moon Handbooks South Pacific by David Stanley, Avalon Travel Publishing]
