You can see from this photo how much of the forest floor was made up of sharp coral rocks. Even though it was raining pretty heavy at times, there were never any puddles, as coral is extremely porous. As a result, there are no rivers or streams on Niue, but plenty of springs in the coastal lowlands. As with many isolated islands, Niue sits in the middle of a large water lens of relatively fresh water. A more dubious belief in Niue is that the island is mushroom-shaped, and actually thinner underwater than on top.