After two days at sea, we are ready for our first look at New Zealand. The days at sea were pleasant with the sea pretty calm. We have learned about short waves and long swells and the difference in the action of the ship. We're either getting more used to it all, or the pre-cruise fears haven't been realized.
Ray, the cruise director, told us to expect to arrive in Milford Sound around 8 a.m. and that we would stay about two hours, leaving at 10 a.m. Alan woke Joyce up a little before 7:30 a.m. to tell her we had arrived in Milford Sound, after looking at Channel 3 on the television that constantly switches between views from the bow and the stern. We hurriedly dressed and climbed the stairs to Deck 12. We were greeted by majestic tree-covered mountains rising nearly directly from the sea. Some of the mountains were obscured by low clouds, but the we could see patches of blue sky so we were hopeful the clouds would lift.
We brought Flat Pete with us on deck. We have had him with us, but often forget to get him out of his backpack home. As we were taking pictures with him, a 1980 engineering Purdue graduate, now living in Houston, stopped to talk. We took his picture with Pete. While taking that picture, another Purdue graduate stopped to talk. She and her husband, a Michigan graduate, live in Indianapolis. We took her picture with Pete and then talked about our lives an hour from each other. By this time, the Purdue graduate from Houston was back. His wife was now on deck, so he borrowed Pete to get a picture with her in the beautiful surroundings. Neither of these couples were traveling with GoNext, so we hadn't met them previously. We enjoyed adding them to our Purdue family on board the Marina.
The ship captain usually gives a weather report at noon. He talked about the ship's speed, wind speed and direction, as well at sea conditions and temperature forcast. He told us we would be taking a side trip through Dusky Sound on the way to Dunedin, our port for tomorrow. He estimated we would arrive around 2:45 and travel through the sound for about 45 minutes.
As we arrived in Dusky Sound, it was very cloudy. There were a number of small tree-covered islands as well as larger mountains rising from the sea. The mountains were not as tall as in Milford Sound, but still very beautiful. Joyce took some video with the GoPro which interested several of our fellow passengers who had not seen one.
We even had a pod of dolphins come by to entertain us for a while with some 'aquabatics'!
Alan set the iPad on a table and would walk away to take pictures and then back to check the score. It was a close game, with Purdue holding their own. As the game progressed, a woman from Missouri became interested in our interest in the game. It was close to the end and she would come over to check the score and encourage us that she was sure Purdue would pull out a win. We were all excited when Purdue pulled out a victory - high-fives all around!!! This is definitely the farthest away that we've kept track of a Boiler/Hoosier game, and maybe the first time to not have watched it. We later found out that it was on the international ESPN feed that comes into our cabin, but we're glad that we weren't tempted into giving up the Dusky Sound experience.
We returned to our stateroom. Alan opted for an afternoon nap. Joyce took the iPad to a sheltered area on Deck 14 with tables and chairs to do some blogging. Days at sea are great days to catch up on blogging. We will be in ports each of the next four days so our days will be filled with touring and sightseeing leaving little time for blogging.
Ray, the cruise director, told us to expect to arrive in Milford Sound around 8 a.m. and that we would stay about two hours, leaving at 10 a.m. Alan woke Joyce up a little before 7:30 a.m. to tell her we had arrived in Milford Sound, after looking at Channel 3 on the television that constantly switches between views from the bow and the stern. We hurriedly dressed and climbed the stairs to Deck 12. We were greeted by majestic tree-covered mountains rising nearly directly from the sea. Some of the mountains were obscured by low clouds, but the we could see patches of blue sky so we were hopeful the clouds would lift.
This area of New Zealand gets a lot of rain. We were told there were two permanent waterfalls and there would be more temporary ones if it had rained recently. We saw several waterfalls with small streams of water originating high up the mountain, cascading down, so very beautiful.
The clouds began to lift and we could see more of the tops of the mountains. The area is so wet, there are "treevalanches" were areas of soil let loose and slide down the steep rock. We saw evidence of several of these. The ship continued into the sound to the end where there was low land. We could see campers and sea kayakers. Soon we saw planes coming back from sightseeing tours. We enjoyed beautiful views under blue skies.
The clouds began to lift and we could see more of the tops of the mountains. The area is so wet, there are "treevalanches" were areas of soil let loose and slide down the steep rock. We saw evidence of several of these. The ship continued into the sound to the end where there was low land. We could see campers and sea kayakers. Soon we saw planes coming back from sightseeing tours. We enjoyed beautiful views under blue skies.We brought Flat Pete with us on deck. We have had him with us, but often forget to get him out of his backpack home. As we were taking pictures with him, a 1980 engineering Purdue graduate, now living in Houston, stopped to talk. We took his picture with Pete. While taking that picture, another Purdue graduate stopped to talk. She and her husband, a Michigan graduate, live in Indianapolis. We took her picture with Pete and then talked about our lives an hour from each other. By this time, the Purdue graduate from Houston was back. His wife was now on deck, so he borrowed Pete to get a picture with her in the beautiful surroundings. Neither of these couples were traveling with GoNext, so we hadn't met them previously. We enjoyed adding them to our Purdue family on board the Marina.
The ship spent quite a bit of time in front of a stunning waterfall at least 200 meters tall. The ship turned so people on both sides could view the splendor. The ship slowly left the Sound as the some of the clouds lowered.
After grabbing a bite for breakfast and then showering, we headed to the Marina lounge to listen to the educational lecture on New Zealand. The human inhabitants for the area came much later than the plant and animal life. We learned about the history of the people traveling to New Zealand from South Pacific Islands to the north and saw the various designs of the canoes and sailing vessels they used. DNA testing has shown that the Maori tribesmen here came from about 50 to 200 females, so it was a pretty tight-knit community of people to settle the land. We also learned about the later European explorations on New Zealand.
The ship captain usually gives a weather report at noon. He talked about the ship's speed, wind speed and direction, as well at sea conditions and temperature forcast. He told us we would be taking a side trip through Dusky Sound on the way to Dunedin, our port for tomorrow. He estimated we would arrive around 2:45 and travel through the sound for about 45 minutes.
We had noticed we often arrive ahead of the predicted time, so we decided to eat lunch on the back deck of the Terrace Cafe and take in Dusky Sound. The Purdue/IU game was beginning so Alan brought his iPad to keep track of the game with Game Tracker.
As we arrived in Dusky Sound, it was very cloudy. There were a number of small tree-covered islands as well as larger mountains rising from the sea. The mountains were not as tall as in Milford Sound, but still very beautiful. Joyce took some video with the GoPro which interested several of our fellow passengers who had not seen one.We even had a pod of dolphins come by to entertain us for a while with some 'aquabatics'!Alan set the iPad on a table and would walk away to take pictures and then back to check the score. It was a close game, with Purdue holding their own. As the game progressed, a woman from Missouri became interested in our interest in the game. It was close to the end and she would come over to check the score and encourage us that she was sure Purdue would pull out a win. We were all excited when Purdue pulled out a victory - high-fives all around!!! This is definitely the farthest away that we've kept track of a Boiler/Hoosier game, and maybe the first time to not have watched it. We later found out that it was on the international ESPN feed that comes into our cabin, but we're glad that we weren't tempted into giving up the Dusky Sound experience. We returned to our stateroom. Alan opted for an afternoon nap. Joyce took the iPad to a sheltered area on Deck 14 with tables and chairs to do some blogging. Days at sea are great days to catch up on blogging. We will be in ports each of the next four days so our days will be filled with touring and sightseeing leaving little time for blogging.
After napping and blogging we went to the Horizon Lounge for afternoon tea. We saw Navir and David and sat with them. Alan had been researching tours in Dunedin, since we didn't arrange one ahead of time through GoNext. He shared the information with Navir and David and they decided to talk about it and get back to us later. They were really more interested in the train tour, so they called later to tell us that, but thanked us for thinking of including them.
Each evening when we arrive at the Grand Dining Room, the hostess takes our stateroom number and asks if we are interested in sharing a table. We decided to share this evening. We had dinner with a retired ophthalmologist and cancer center director, now living in Florida, but originally from Baltimore and St. Louis. They had both lost their spouses and appeared to be in a relatively recent relationship. They were pleasant and we enjoyed our dinner with them.
Leo Ward, an London illusionist, was the entertainment for the evening. He was OK, but not especially inspiring.
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