Opaahi Landing

Opaahi on Niue's western coast near Alofi is the landing where Captain Cook attempted to come ashore in 1774 and was turned back by Niueans on the rocks, an encounter after which he named the place Savage Island, a name Niue spent two centuries getting rid of. The landing is a cut in the coral with the sea working at it. A marker records the episode. Cook made three attempts to land on Niue in 1774 and was turned back each time, which is why he never got beyond the shoreline. The name he gave the island stuck in European use for two hundred years.

Highlights

• The rocky landing - the cut in the coral where the attempt was made.
• The 1774 encounter - the arrival Cook was turned back from.
• The marker - the stone recording the episode.
• The naming - the label Cook gave the island and Niue later shed.

When to go

May to October is the dry season and calmest. Swell makes the rocks dangerous. Cyclone season runs November to April.

Before you go

There is very little to see beyond rocks and a marker. The rocks are slippery and dangerous in swell. The visit takes minutes.

Nearby

Alofi is nearby, and Utuko is north.