Are we there yet?

Day 5 Maupiti to Niue, Saturday, July 24, 2010
Position 18 13.559S 160 29.388W
At noon today we past the 500nm mark, only another 500nm to go to Niue.
Whenever I come up through the companionway after rest, I'm still surprised to see the big swells looming behind the boat. What are we doing out here? Out in the Pacific that is thousands of feet deep, hundreds of miles from land and as confirmed by the net check-ins - about 70 miles from the closest cruising vessel. Is anyone else out here? We keep looking but only see occasional birds and flying fish. I go back to my book. Elliot is designing his new boat card in Photoshop.
Some fellow cruisers on this route have anchored off Palmerston Reef for a rest and perhaps some whale sightings. It's about 150 miles away and about half way between Tahiti and Tonga. Some cruisers intend to anchor off Beveridge Reef for some snorkeling, about 120 miles south east of Niue. If we reach Beveridge Reef during daylight we might be tempted to stop there briefly.
Last night we had a brilliant starlit night with an almost full moon. This type of night has been elusive since we arrived in the South Pacific. Mostly the sky is covered with clouds and storms are more common then we desire. We were treated to a beautiful sunrise however, the wind is dropping and clocking around to the NE. Not so good for our passage making. Owen is enjoying the sunshine and playing a game on his itouch in the cockpit. Robert is calculating, updating the log, and ignoring the inevitable "are we there yet?". Not nearly!