Niue Blue

On the tiny South Pacific island of Niue, a self-governing Polynesian nation with political ties to New Zealand, Niue Blue is poised to become the newest Eco Center of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, better known as PADI. It’s one of only three dive hubs in the South Pacific with such a prestigious certification (Sau Bay Resort & Spa in Fiji and Dive Rarotonga in the Cook Islands are others), which is awarded to operators promoting marine biodiversity and community resilience in their own backyards. The imminent crowning comes thanks in part to Niue Blue’s partnership with Daughters of the Deep, an organization that helps provide financial and educational support for Niuean women interested in pursuing careers in marine conservation, both on and off the island. For visitors who don a mask and regulator here, the underwater wonders include clouds of tropical fish, a thriving grey reef shark population, and the island’s endemic katuali sea snake—all found within one of the world’s largest Marine Protected Areas. But the biggest thrill comes between late June and October, when humpback whales arrive from feeding grounds in the Southern Ocean to these warmer seas to calve and nurse their young, gracing observers both on land and in the water with an unusually close-up look. “Niue is a really unique South Pacific island because there is no surrounding barrier reef and [it] is made up entirely of limestone, which allows for the migrating humpbacks to come closer to shore than anywhere else in the Pacific Ocean,” says PADI Regional Manager Robyn Vincent. Visibility in Niue’s waters can surpass the 160-foot mark, too, since Niue has no rivers running off it to murk up the clarity. Back on dry land, travelers can also explore dramatic sea chasms and caverns via low-tide sea tracks leading from the island’s towering cliffs to the water’s glittering turquoise edge.