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Gene & Lee's Tour and Cruise |
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Our destination for today was the Fiordland National Park in the southwest of New Zealand’s South Island. We cruised into Milford Sound and arrived at the Milford Discovery Centre and Underwater Observatory at 8:00 am. Despite its name, Milford Sound is actually a fiord, not a sound. It is also the only fiord in New Zealand that is accessible by road. Milford Sound is known for towering Mitre Peak which rises to 5,560 feet (just over 1 mile) with almost sheer drops to the water, plus rainforests and waterfalls like Stirling and Bowen Falls, which plummet down its sheer sides. The fiord is home to fur seal colonies, penguins and dolphins.    
   
  click picture to enlarge We did not depart the ship but the crew did evac a passenger who was having a medical emergency to the Discovery Centre. That task completed, we again got underway at 9:00 am to continue cruising more of the Fiordland National Park for the rest of the day.    
   click picture to enlarge Fiordland National Park is by far the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of 12,607 square kilometers (4,868 sq mi). The southern ranges of the Southern Alps cover most of Fiordland National Park. The park is a significant refuge for many threatened native animals, ranging from dolphins and bats to reptiles, insects, and endangered species of birds endemic to New Zealand.    click picture to enlarge Sailing south, our next incursion was in and out of Doubtful Sound. At 40 kilometers (25 mi) long, Doubtful Sound is the second longest in the Park, and with a depth of up to 421 meters (1,381 ft) the deepest of the South Island's fiords. From Doubtful Sound we sailed round Resolution Island which is the largest island in the Fiordland region. It is the country's seventh largest island, and the second largest uninhabited island. The island was chosen in 2004 to be one of New Zealand's offshore reserves, which are cleared of introduced species to protect native species. Clearing the island, we entered Dusky Sound which is the largest at 40 kilometers in length and eight kilometers wide at its widest point. The rest of the day was spent cruising the Sound, then sailing around the southern end of the South Island towards tomorrows stop at Dunedin. |
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