The group happy to have found the second geo-cache

Tonight’s blog is written by Ann because as Bob and I discussed it he was far less enthusiastic about the geocache experiences we’ve had over the last two days than I am.

As we said in the last blog there is the opportunity to hunt for geocaches on this island. Actually there are four geocaches hidden somewhere on Niue. The other day we found one! This was my first experience with geocaching and I am hooked! I have always loved a good scavenger hunt and this is just that on steroids! Kind of like the TV series Amazing Race only without the million dollar prize. (sad face)

For the last two days we have been driving all over the island looking for our second geocache with Orcinius (Lisa and John – our most excellent driver) and The Rose (Pat and John). It seems the girls were a little more into it than the guys but when you start climbing down into chasms and across coral spirals it is hard to stay uninvolved. What a great way to see an island that is so unique. Niue is an upraised coral atoll. It is full of rugged coastlines and beautiful reefs waiting to be explored. The island has lots of sea tracks which are trails down to the reefs through the rugged cliffs. Every time we got to a new location via a sea track we all agreed we were so glad we made the effort.

Some of these hikes are 10 minute hikes to the reef, some are as close as the bay in front of the Wash Away Café – the site of the only self-service bar around. Probably the only self-service bar in existence. Yes, you actually go in and make your own drink, record it on the ledger and pay for it later. And, it is only open on Sundays. The view from the café tables is stunning. The waves approach, cresting on the reef and washing up to shore. The snorkeling looked inviting but we were on a mission!

Our next stop took us to Togo Chasm. Lisa likened it to an approach to a Disneyland ride – probably Indiana Jones, but possibly with a touch of The Lord of the Rings thrown in. We hiked in about 20 minutes through uga infested jungles (ugas being the blue coconut crabs we were sure lived in the nooks and crannies of the coral walls we passed by) out to the cliff. The last 300 yards were surreal. We came out of the jungle and crossed through coral spires that really looked like they might be made of limestone. The shapes were incredible – one looked like a dragon about to bite your head off. And when we thought it could not get better we reached the cliff and were granted an incredible view of the crashing waves from a few hundred feet above them. Walt Disney would have been jealous!

The trail continued down through the spires to a very steep ladder with 27 rungs. (The number of rungs was needed to solve the clues for the cache.) The ladder took us to a nice sandy beach situated between two walls that went straight up about 300 feet on each side. In this lovely chasm were very tall coconut palms. We crawled through some caves and over rocks to a place where we could sit and watch the crashing waves from sea level. Very invigorating!

The next few clues were less obvious and led us to a small village on the east side of the island. After climbing into abandoned buildings looking for clues we enlisted the help of a few island teenagers (they thought we were nuts!) and obtained a few very important pieces of information and an actual answer to a clue question! We really should have kidnapped them and ensured ourselves their continued assistance.

Unfortunately dwindling daylight brought us to an abrupt halt. We all agreed we needed to keep the rented van for another day. Which brings us to today. We woke up with renewed spirits and the girls determined that we needed to back-track for two stops. Ouch. But back we went. Thank goodness that the ice cream store that had been taunting us with “the island’s best ice cream” was finally open and on our route to retrace our steps. Today’s hunt also took us to another chasm – Anapale Chasm. This chasm really was straight out of Indiana Jones. Narrow, winding stairs led us deeper into a chasm where the light could hardly reach the fresh water at the bottom. The bravest trekkers in the group- Pat, John and John (Lisa, Bob and I just think they were nuts) actually stepped into the water and swam further into the chasm squealing about the ice cold water all the way. The most important part though, was that we were able to count the number of posts on the stairs – another clue.

So that is how our entire day evaporated before our eyes and we found ourselves close but the cache not found as the last of the sun disappeared from the horizon and darkness settled on the island. We finally called the search off before any of us could get hurt. We had spent at least 45 minutes using the clues and doing the mathematical equations to obtain the last GPS coordinates to find the cache. Unfortunately we never did succeed. But we all agreed it was fabulous way to see the island and appreciate its unique features. We never did get to snorkel in these spots but are looking forward to some easy snorkeling in the next few days. We also think we should create our own geocache somewhere and make it really hard but very interesting!

My day ended with calling home to wish my youngest son, Andy, a happy 25th birthday. When asked about his birthday dinner plans he told his co-workers that his mother was not around to celebrate. In fact, he told them she lived in the ocean; she is a mermaid. So from a mermaid anchored at Niue – good night and sweet dreams!