On Niue, a flat, isolated Pacific island 240 miles east of Tonga, travel writer Bob Payne was sitting at the bar of one of the few restaurants on the island, watching a pink sunset through a glass of New Zealand white wine, when he told the bartender he wished he could talk with the island’s head of tourism.
“Easily done,” the bartender said. “That’s him sitting next to you.”
The tourist most suited for Niue, the tourism head told Payne, was the adventurous type. “People who are interested in fishing, caving, snorkeling, scuba diving, mountain climbing.”
Mountain climbing? As kindly as Payne could, he pointed out that he was sitting on the highest thing he’d seen to climb on the island.
“Then you should try out sea cliffs,” the head of tourism said. “You might find them interesting.”
Wikipedia/Flickr user fearlessRich photo.
Travel Humor writer Bob Payne is the Chief Financial Officer in the U.S. for the Niue Yacht Club. He visited Niue for a story that appeared in the June 1996 issue of Islands magazine.
