We weren’t getting off the ship, but we were up early so we didn’t miss any of the views of Fiordland. Pictures don’t do the place justice. My brain was having a difficult time processing what I was seeing. It was like a movie with the most amazing special effects, but right in front of me. I will never forget how small I felt, how amazing the views were, and how unbelievable this world we live on is.
Located in the southwest of New Zealand’s South Island, Fiordland is known for the glacier carved fiords of Doubtful, Milford and Dusky sounds where cliffs come up almost vertically from the water. The sounds are actually misnamed as Fiords. Although these famous sounds continue with the misname, the region was renamed Fiordland to recognize the error.
We started in Dusky sound, which is extremely isolated, has no roads leading to it and remains one of New Zealand’s most remote fiords. I had no expectations of how this whole day would go or work, which probably contributed to my constant sense of awe. (I’ve never been to Alaska or seen the Fjords in Norway, so I have nothing to compare the experience to.)
I thought we would sort of see the things from the distance, not drive right in on the cruise ship. I certainly didn’t know we could just go right through the whole thing. Again words don’t describe it. But we were so close to these giant spectacular mountains and crazy terrain. It took a little over an hour to drive through Dusky sound. It was really windy as we were entering and then a calmness set over everything once we were within the protection of the mountains.
James Cook named this area Dusky Bay when he sailed in it around 1770.
It took about another hour and a half for us to get to Doubtful Sound. It is 25 miles long and 1400 feet deep. We saw some seals on some rocks at the entrance of the Fiord. They were the only animals we saw other than birds and annoying little sand flies that were particularly attracted to me. It took about two hours for the cruise ship to slowly motor through.
We had another couple hour wait and then we made it to Milford sound. It is known for its towering Mitre Peak, plus rainforests and waterfalls. We saw Stirling and Bowen falls, the two permanent falls. It was clear that there were hundreds more waterfalls that would be cascading on rainy days. There are 182 days of rain a year, but it was absolutely gorgeous when we were in Milford. Sunny and 60s. The cruise director who was narrating our journey and the captain said we had the best weather of the times they have been in the sounds this season.
Rudyard Kipling visited the area in the 1890s and called it the 8th wonder of the world.
In Milford there were half a dozen small tour boats and a couple people kayaking. Milford became accessible by road in the 1950s after the 19-year Homer tunnel project to bore through the mountains was finished. It sounded like it takes about four hours to drive to Milford.
I am just going to add a bunch of pictures to try to remember the day.
At about 5pm we were heading into the Tasman Sea to start our two days at sea. We went back to Onda for another delicious Italian dinner. Then we headed to Spinnaker because it seems to be our bar… we like the drinks, the bartenders and the atmosphere. They had a hilarious gameshow that seemed like it was going to be the newlywed game, but then they made the three couples do silly things like pop balloons on each other, get a dart in a hole between the guys legs, etc. Then we went to the main theatre for a juggler comedy show, which was entertaining enough.
All in all, a great day, and I will never forget the fiords!
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