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Avaiki Cave is named after the legendary Polynesian homeland and was where Niue's first settlers landed. A narrow gorge leads to a coastal cavern cradling a heavenly rock pool. Swimming is forbidden at Avaiki on a Sunday and when the kaloama (goatfish) spawn. Palaha Cave, with stalagmites and stalactites, is a further 200m (0.1mi) along.
Avaiki has easy access. The car park is just beside the road and it is well signposted. The track goes downhill between corals surrounded by trees. The inclination is not bad at all, and I can assure you it is true because I forgot my mask in the car and went back up running without problems (I am 54). It takes less than 10 minutes walking slowly to reach the entrance of the first cave and another 5 minutes to reach the second cave. For this tour, we recommend reef shoes above any other shoes, due the fact you may have to walk over the reef flats to reach the second cave. To do so, it must be low tide otherways it becomes very difficult, especially with waves breaking during the hight tide. Also don't forget to bring a mask and swimming suit.
After the entrance of the first cave, (big photo on the top of this page) the happy tourist receives a shock. The size and the beauty of columns, stalactites and stalagmites are amazing and you have to watch your neck, other ways it may fall off your head. The colours are impressive and the environment around you leaves you speechless. Avaiki is not a large cave, in reality it is quite small, with the highest reaching 10 metres at the highest point. The cave is full of big rocks, probably reminiscent from cyclone Heta.
The government after Heta placed some wood bridges to facilitate walking without having to go up and down over big boulders. Just after this bridge, if you turn right and negotiate your way over the rocks, you'll find a passage in the lateral wall, and this passage leads to a grand stand view of the second cave. The only way to access the second cave from this point is to jump 5 metres into the water which is very dangerous but there is another easier way which involves just going down to the reef platform.
There are a few sharp corals on the reef flats which may suggest reef shoes, but we've seen some people wearing flip flops despite the fact they were having some trouble to walk on the reef. If the tide is high or the sea too strong, waves will crash against the boulder making it almost impossible to walk something like 60 meters to reach the second cave. As much as you approach the cave you take notice of the its size. Well, now comes the best part which is....The second cave has a giant pool inside. Yes, a poll of sea water feed by high tides and waves. The most incredible part is that it has corals inside and plenty of colourful fishes. That is the reason I went running back to the car park to get my mask and snorkel. It is something so fantastic that is hard to believe what you see. The water is warm sometimes mixed with fresh water from the cave.
From the cave you can see the entire reef flat right in front of you. The reef flat has one small but very nice pool to snorkel in. It is about 2 metres wide by 6 metres long with a maximum dept of 1,5 metres. The pool was full of fishes, including many butterfly fish, blue damsels, brown tangs, and many many others. Of course snorkelling in this mini aquarium requires a very gentle sea and very low tide. Also with a calm sea, you can try to snorkel in the open ocean, just to the left of this photo. There is an entrance on the reef flat forming a deep "V" and it was sublime. Anyway in this case you'll need a pair of fins, but again, the sea must be calm as a placid lake, other ways you may get into trouble and cut yourself trying to make it over the reef with waves crashing from behinde.
Avaiki has easy access. The car park is just beside the road and it is well signposted. The track goes downhill between corals surrounded by trees. The inclination is not bad at all, and I can assure you it is true because I forgot my mask in the car and went back up running without problems (I am 54). It takes less than 10 minutes walking slowly to reach the entrance of the first cave and another 5 minutes to reach the second cave. For this tour, we recommend reef shoes above any other shoes, due the fact you may have to walk over the reef flats to reach the second cave. To do so, it must be low tide otherways it becomes very difficult, especially with waves breaking during the hight tide. Also don't forget to bring a mask and swimming suit.
After the entrance of the first cave, (big photo on the top of this page) the happy tourist receives a shock. The size and the beauty of columns, stalactites and stalagmites are amazing and you have to watch your neck, other ways it may fall off your head. The colours are impressive and the environment around you leaves you speechless. Avaiki is not a large cave, in reality it is quite small, with the highest reaching 10 metres at the highest point. The cave is full of big rocks, probably reminiscent from cyclone Heta.
The government after Heta placed some wood bridges to facilitate walking without having to go up and down over big boulders. Just after this bridge, if you turn right and negotiate your way over the rocks, you'll find a passage in the lateral wall, and this passage leads to a grand stand view of the second cave. The only way to access the second cave from this point is to jump 5 metres into the water which is very dangerous but there is another easier way which involves just going down to the reef platform.
There are a few sharp corals on the reef flats which may suggest reef shoes, but we've seen some people wearing flip flops despite the fact they were having some trouble to walk on the reef. If the tide is high or the sea too strong, waves will crash against the boulder making it almost impossible to walk something like 60 meters to reach the second cave. As much as you approach the cave you take notice of the its size. Well, now comes the best part which is....The second cave has a giant pool inside. Yes, a poll of sea water feed by high tides and waves. The most incredible part is that it has corals inside and plenty of colourful fishes. That is the reason I went running back to the car park to get my mask and snorkel. It is something so fantastic that is hard to believe what you see. The water is warm sometimes mixed with fresh water from the cave.
From the cave you can see the entire reef flat right in front of you. The reef flat has one small but very nice pool to snorkel in. It is about 2 metres wide by 6 metres long with a maximum dept of 1,5 metres. The pool was full of fishes, including many butterfly fish, blue damsels, brown tangs, and many many others. Of course snorkelling in this mini aquarium requires a very gentle sea and very low tide. Also with a calm sea, you can try to snorkel in the open ocean, just to the left of this photo. There is an entrance on the reef flat forming a deep "V" and it was sublime. Anyway in this case you'll need a pair of fins, but again, the sea must be calm as a placid lake, other ways you may get into trouble and cut yourself trying to make it over the reef with waves crashing from behinde.
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