Niue is among the world's biggest and the world's smallest. As a raised coral atoll, of 259 sq. km., it stands 70 metres above sea level. It is the world's largest up-lifted coral landmass. As an independent nation, it is one of the world's smallest, if not the smallest. It is definitely one of those places which you should consider visiting because it's the opposite of Coney Island, about which Yogi Berra once said, "No one goes there anymore, it's too crowded."
It could be said about Niue that no one goes there anymore because airlines serving Niue keep losing money by the bushel. It is not that hard to get to Niue but you do have to plan ahead and you have to be a bit flexible as to your arrival and your departure dates. Tour operators on Niue run ten day tours that fluctuate between nine and eleven days depending on the capriciousness of airline schedules.
The good news is that you can probably swing through Niue from Apia, Samoa on your way to New Zealand. From Apia there is currently only one flight a week. It doesn't take that long to fly to Niue but you need to make sure that you arrive in Apia with time to spare or your elapsed time from Apia will turn into one week and seventy minutes.
That being said, why would anyone wish to travel to Niue? For a bit of Nonu? I don't think so. You can get Nonu in other places, such as Samoa where it originated. After all, Margaret Mead, seemed to think that Samoa was a Garden of Eden. Heck now you can even get Nonu in North America, or so I have good reason to believe.
Okay, so Niue is not that easy to get to. Captain Cook learned that in 1774 when he was refused landing privileges by Niuean warriors. Cook charted Niue and called it Savage Island. Little did Captain Cook know! Niueans are known far and wide for killing their guests with kindness. However, there probably was another reason why Cook did not push his luck. It was highly unlikely that there was a safe anchorage for a ship the size of the Resolution.
At 111 feet, she was a bit large for surfing and would have found it difficult to navigate through a break in the reef, and where there weren't reefs due to drop offs, it would require skillful handling against running seas. However there are no reefs off Niue and consequently no lagoons. Of course, Captain Cook wouldn't have known that and crashing sea on the rock walls of the island could easily be confusing.
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