Travel Tips: Niue

2,400 kilometres northeast of New Zealand and a part of the triangle formed by the Kingdom of Tonga to the west, the Samoa’s to the north and the Cook Islands to the east, sits Niue Island...

Niu ē translates to mean “Behold the coconut”  but the land has been known by a few names in her time; Like the one Captain James Cook coined in 1774, “Savage Island”. 

Legend has it; the natives that "greeted" him were painted in what appeared to Cook and his crew to be blood.  It turns out that the suspicious substance on their teeth was from the harmless hulahula, a native red banana- But Cook wasn’t so keen to stick around and find that out- so the name “Savage Island “ stuck for a couple of centuries.

Niue is also affectionately known as “The Rock of Polynesia” due to the fact that it’s one of the world’s largest coral Islands. The landscape is made up of steep limestone cliffs that rise out of the ocean to impressive heights of up to 60 meters.

And to our coconet.tv travel guide Shimpal Lelisi – Niue is simply called- Home. So who better to give you a guided tour? Jump in with Shim and take in the sights and sounds of this truly unique pacific Island.

CREDITS

Director/ Presenter:  Shimpal Lelisi

Camera Op: Jake Farani-Faga

Second Camera: Jerry Tauamiti, Vea Mafileo

Local Fixer: Maree Webster