08 – 2010 – Niue UNDERWATER

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: When we arrived at Beveridge Reef, we met Alan and Allison on their sojourn through the South Pacific. Avid divers, they also both happen to be professional pilots! Alan works for UPS and Allison may be your Captain on United Airlines the next time you fly to Australia!…. Niue Island – South Pacific

: This is Gloria off s/v Paikea Mist…. We met her and husband Michael at Beveridge Reef too. We all got together for our first day of diving at the “Coral Garden”…(not so much). However, there was some “firsts” for Cindy and me….keep watching! Niue Island – South Pacific

: The animal inside has “gone home”. You can tell this shell has a live animal inside as it is so clean. Touching these types of shells causes no harm and we’re always very careful to never take live ones out of the ocean. In fact, we almost never take any shells even if we know, “nobody’s home”…… Niue Island – South Pacific

: Large Emperor Angel in the “intermediate phase” in an area of healthy coral. The primary problem here with the coral was recent cyclone activity. Niue Island – South Pacific

: This was a first for us to see in real life. They are small but striking in both color and what appears to be aggressive behavior. The behavior is actually just breathing. Most species of eels have to open and close their mouths to pump water over their gills to breathe. Niue Island – South Pacific

: We were quite pleased to see this shell here, a sign that the dreaded reef eating “crown of thorns” starfish may be kept in check as the reef recovers. Niue Island – South Pacific

: On our second dive, we were treated to the big attraction here at Niue, “sea kraits”. The difference between a sea krait and a sea snake is quite small. The ‘kraits’ bear their young on land, where the snakes bear their young in the sea. Niue Island – South Pacific

: Sea Kraits, like Sea Snakes are air breathers and must go to the surface about every 10-30 minutes. Underwater, if they are not hunting, they often “nest” together. I’m only a few feet away, but have no fear. Despite the fact that their venom is absolutely deadly, they are completely un-aggressive and have teeth that are so small, you’d practically have to shove your hand down their throat to get into trouble. Niue Island – South Pacific

: We thought we might see some Sea Kraits, but we ended up coming back to this dive site repeatedly as we enjoyed seeing them EVERYWHERE. Niue Island – South Pacific

: After a few minutes of “are you kidding”! You start to get pretty comfortable around these graceful animals. We swim after them…..they swim wherever they want too! Niue Island – South Pacific

: Actually, this was a bit intimidating to watch while photographing, but the reality was that I was just another rock as far as this guy was concerned. Niue Island – South Pacific

: Another cool attraction of Niue is the many underwater sea caverns. These mimic the surface caverns and made for really interesting swim throughs. Sea Caves are different in that as a diver, you cannot “see out” and must be careful that you can always swim to the surface at any time (cavern vs. cave). True cave diving is an entirely different skill set and experience. We’ll stick to the caverns. Niue Island – South Pacific

: This is Annie our dive guide who led us on a sort of Disneyland “follow the leader” type experience around the caverns. Niue Island – South Pacific

: We’d seen the photo and heard it was safe, but had never actually seen anyone in person HANDLE Sea Kraits (or Sea Snakes). There are two species at Niue, one of which is unique to this island. The other is the “common sea krait” and found over much of the Western Indo/Pacific. Don’t try this at home! Niue Island – South Pacific

: Annie has been doing this for years. And, indeed said it was quite safe after observing her and simply being slow and careful. If the Krait did more than twitch….let go! Niue Island – South Pacific

: I believe this is the Niuean Sea Krait, but those who have more experience than I may comment. You can see the subtle color difference. They are also a bit bigger. They seem to tolerate each other just fine too. Niue Island – South Pacific

: On our first day of diving, we weren’t quite ready to handle one of these beauties, but the more we were around them, the more comfortable we became. None-the-less. You do tend to keep your eye peeled at all times. Niue Island – South Pacific

: Well, we were getting more and more intrigued. Annie seemed to have no worries as they say down here…AND…. Niue Island – South Pacific

: After watching her on several dives….. Niue Island – South Pacific

: She does look a lot like Cindy, don’t you think? But Cindy gets colder and wears here “beanie”….. Niue Island – South Pacific

: Common Sea Krait Niue Island – South Pacific

: Here she goes Niue Island – South Pacific

: Almost! Niue Island – South Pacific

: After this encounter, Cindy got more and more comfortable and we hope to show you the video soon!…. Niue Island – South Pacific

: Pretty cool critter. Niue Island – South Pacific

: Cindy got so comfortable handling the Kraits she started getting style points. Niue Island – South Pacific

: Cindy poses with her new friend NIue Island – South Pacific

: We couldn’t get enough….Well, at least Cindy couldn’t. I’m just the guy on the safe end of the camera! She’s BRAVE! Niue Island – South Pacific

: My favorite portrait of the Niuean Sea Krait…. Stay tuned, next underwater stop will be Tonga where we hope to swim with the humpback whales! NIue Island – South Pacific

SV Beach House

08 – 2010 – Niue UNDERWATER