Niue · Niue · Cave & cavern
Snake Gully
A cavern packed with painted crayfish under 20 metres of water
Area photo: Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia · Public domain
Niue Dive called Snake Gully the island's signature site, and the name is literal: sea kraits gather here by the dozens and sometimes in the hundreds, around a cavern crammed with painted crayfish in less than 20 metres of water. Schools of barracuda make regular appearances, and turtles, sharks and Maori wrasse are all possible on a given morning.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Niue and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The dive works around a cavern in shallow water: the operator put the site's features in less than 20 metres, with the wider profile running from 5 to 30 metres. The cavern is crammed with painted crayfish, and the Niuean sea kraits that give the gully its name are here in numbers — counted by the dozens on a normal day, and sometimes in the hundreds.
Out in the open water off the cavern, schools of barracuda make regular appearances. The rest is chance rather than schedule: turtles, sharks and Maori wrasse all pass through, none of them reliably. The operator reports rarely any current anywhere on Niue and puts most sites five to ten minutes from the launch, so the dive is usually run at an easy pace with plenty of time in the shallow end.
Marine life and season
- Sea snakes
- Barracuda
- Sea turtles
- Napoleon wrasse
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Niue: Jul-Sep is peak season, combining calm seas with humpback whales; the Nov-Apr cyclone season brings more swell and rougher boat access.
Know before you go
- The katuali sea kraits are highly venomous but placid, and Niue Dive reported no one has ever been bitten in the water by a Niuean sea snake — let them come to you rather than reaching out.
Dive videos
Diving @ Snake Gully in Niue 2016 · Damien Wittmack - Underwater Video on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Snake Gully?+
Niue Dive gave the site as 5 to 30 metres and put the cavern and its main features in less than 20 metres, so most of the dive is spent shallow.
Will I actually see sea snakes at Snake Gully?+
Niuean sea kraits are the reason the site has its name. Niue Dive described them here by the dozens and sometimes in the hundreds, in and around the cavern.
Sources
- Dive Sites | Niue Dive — Niue Dive (archived via Wayback Machine)
- Scuba Diving Tours — Niue Blue Island Experiences
In The Logbook
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