Four Days on Water

Milford Sound is the most popular, and possibly most “dramatic” of the fiords. However, it is also fairly short, and can be seen in two hour cruise.

The most exciting part was when the skipper put the nose into a waterfall, so everyone could get wet from the spray.

I have booked four days in a row of “water travel”, and I have completed three.

First, I had a day cruise of Milford Sound. This took about 2.5 hours.

Then, an overnight cruise of Doubtful Sound, which I finished this morning.

Tomorrow, I will take a boat across Te Anau Lake to see the Glowworm Cave.

In between the boat cruises, I have also had time to do some half-day hikes in the Fiordland rainforests and alpine areas.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is the most famous and popular of the fiords. However, it is fairly short, and can be visited in a 2 hour cruise.

It has some fairly dramatic views, with waterfalls coming down steep cliffs.

One of the more exciting moments was when the skipper put the nose of the boat very close to a waterfall.

Doubtful Sound

This is about three times longer than Milford. It is also more difficult to access. We took a boat across Lake Manapouri, then transferred to a bus to drive over a pass, then finally to the cruise ship.

Doubtful Sound is not quite a spectacular as Milford, but the overnight cruise was more fun. On the first day, we got to perform an extra activity, either kayaking, or a guided tour on a small tendercraft (ie. power boat).

Since I had already kayaked at Kaikoura, I opted for the tendercraft, which was better for photography.

While the kayaks and tendercraft were out, the skipper gave a crew member a shower in a waterfall:

One kayaker tipped over, and we had to rescue him.

The meals were quite good, and the cruise was relaxing, overall. The bunks were comfortable, and I got a good sleep.

I took the offer to swim at 6:15am on the second day. The water was very, very cold and I only stayed in for about one minute.

Heading back, we ran past a pod of dolphins:

The dolphins were heading the other way, so we only saw them for about a minute.

I can highly recommend either (or both) of the cruises!

Hikes

After the Milford Sound cruise, I had time in the afternoon to hike in the Gertrude Valley:

It was nice to have an opportunity to see an alpine area, and compare to the temperate rainforest at lower elevations. As you can see, these mountains keep some snow (and even get fresh snow) in the summertime.

The Moon is Upside Down!

Someone pointed out to me that, when viewing the moon in the southern hemisphere, it is upside down!