Celebrated New Zealand born artist Mark Cross, who is based in Niue. His paintings depict startling contemporary realist images of the Pacific.
Want something to do in Niue?
Why not try Surge Dunking, Blowholing and Wave Running?
Faakaalofa Lahi Atu.
With only one flight a week (courtesy of Air New Zealand) and room for only 120 travellers at a time, NIUE offers a unique, uncrowded experience. Unique in the fact it’s made of porous limestone, where rain quickly filters through to the sea, carving stunning caverns, cathedrals and caves along the way. It has the greatest underwater visibility anywhere in the world, providing spectacular views of its tropical marine life.
NIUE is a small up thrust coral atoll some 69 meters above sea level, formed by dropping sea levels in the last million years and composed entirely of coralline limestone and marble. Most of the coast rises 20-30 meters straight out of the sea and so the island offers unique coves rather then typical beaches. Its stunning rocky terrain showcases steep cliffs along gorgeous coastlines scattered with caves, chasms and blowholes. It is one of the smallest island nations in the world, with a population of only 1,800 and spanning just 258 km2, which is still four times larger than Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.
Centuries ago, Polynesian settlers from Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands named NIUE ‘Motusefua’, meaning island of its own. There are ancient legends telling of these first settlers, together with the Fire Gods from Fonuagalo (Hidden Land). Pre-European settlement NIUE was unique from other Polynesian islands as it avoided adapting a traditional Polynesian power hierarchy. Instead it was governed through family or clan based units, united under an elected monarch. From this early stage, Niueans held a strong sense of independence, both from each other and their island neighbours. Niuean chiefs gained British Protectorate status in 1900, and was then annexed by New Zealand in 1901. However, in 1974 NIUE gained independence in free association with New Zealand.
Niuean culture reflects a unique quality that echoes its distinctive landscape. The rocky limestone geology meant that the islanders had to develop very different domestic behaviour then their Polynesian neighbours. Its unique culture and language evolved from the original settlers who migrated from Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands. Until the arrival of Christian missionaries in the mid 1800s, Niuean domestic life was conducted within the many caves that interlace the island.
The islanders have a very present wealth of traditions that are still practiced today. These include the Haircutting ceremony for teenage boys, where the lone tail of hair the boy has had since childhood is removed. Guests and family hold a feast and hundreds of dollars is contributed to the boy’s future. Girls also have a similar Ear Piercing ceremony.
