5th August

We Arrived at beveridge reef at sunrise. we are literally anchored in the middle of the ocean with no land for 100s of miles. the reef is only a foot below the surface in parts but the lagoon is about 15 metres deep at the most. the snorkelling here is amazing, the coral are gorgeous colours and the fish are really inquisitive including the sharks who came over to see who/what we were. Paul volunteered to cook dinner this evening where I talked him through how to cook a pad Thai which he said he would cook again! Result...and it was delicious!

6th August

We spent all Day at the reef today. We are the only boat here.. We tried to find a dive site but became disorientated so we ended up finding a small sandbank instead where we spent a while taking photos and messing around when a few of saw a whale breach. The rest of us just saw the massive splash that followed and its tail disappearing below the surface. We watched them from the black for a while, we can't wait to see them up close. Beach.

7th August

We left at first light to Set sail for Niue. We are currently watching the tv series game of thrones during our passages which we are all enjoying. 

One morning during the passage Paul and Caroline saw a water spout!! Scary!

8th August

Arrived Niue this morning and randomly ended up getting a hire car straight away as availability is quite limited. It seems impossible to spend money here!!! there are no cash machines. the card machines in the shops dont work and when you ask for cash back they dont have enough of it to give you...luckily we had about $20 left over from cook islands between us so ended up having a cereal bar and pack of crisps or lunch between us! we spent the afternoon exploring caves and chasms which are really cool. One chasm has a load of palm trees and pristine sand in it so it felt like a secret oasis. It was a bit like something you would expect to see in an Indiana jones film!

Niue is a really pretty place unlike the other island we have visited so far. It is an island made up of coral which has risen from the sea. It is not a tall dramatic looking island and its one of the smallest self governing states in the world.

9th August

We explored some more caves today and took a snorkelling trip on the rib this afternoon where we passed some spinner Dolphins. A few of us jumped in and swam with the dolphins although they didn't come very close to us, they didnt dive or swim away. they were jumping and spinning and behaving like dolphins at seaworld which was really special to see up close. a few us snorkelled with the Sea snakes, they are highly venomous but very friendly and inquisitive. The locals say that no one has ever been bitten and that you would pretty much have to ram your fingers down a snakes throat for it to aggressively bite you.

We met an Alaskan couple from another boat on our walk this morning who came over for drinks this evening so it was nice to share stories of where we have all been and what we have seen.