We made our way to the southwest corner of the South Island and into Fiordland National Park. The park is huge, taking up over 5% of the entire land mass of New Zealand.
We cruised through three of the sounds that are located within the park, the Milford, Doubtful and Dusky Sounds. We had been through the Milford Sound previously and of course I'm a little prejudiced but I think it's the most scenic of the three. The Milford Sound goes in about 9 miles and at times it doesn't seem too much wider than the ship. The cliffs are over 5,000 feet high in many places and drop pretty close to straight down to the water then continue another 800 feet or so beneath the surface. I'm honored they named this amazing sound after me even if it was a few hundred years before I was born.
Now in case you're confused, my first name is Milford. It's a named that doesn't make the pages of "common and popular names" books. It's a name none the less that I am proud of since it was my Dad's name. If you don't know the rest of the story, he passed away a couple of months before I was born.
The Doubtful Sound was named by Captain Cook who never actually sailed into the sound because he was "doubtful" that there was a way out. Turns out he was wrong because there is an entrance and exit that was easily navigable.
Both the Doubtful and Dusky Sounds were wider and the cliffs not as high but the views were equally spectacular.
Since I'm a little behind here is a bit on Port Chalmers and Dunedin which we visited yesterday (Wednesday):
We docked in Port Chalmers which is a small quaint city that serves as the Gateway to Dunedin.
Dunedin has a population of around 120,000 which makes it the fifth largest city in New Zealand. It has a very strong Scottish heritage and is actually modeled and named after Edinburgh, Scotland. It is also home to Otago University which has close to 25,000 students and includes a medical, dental, law and engineering school.
We took a train ride on the Taieri Gorge Railway through the very scenic gorge. The views along the way were quite amazing. They were made even more impressive knowing the path for the railroad was initially cut through the mountains with shovels and axes over 100 years ago.
While touring the city after the train ride we passed a golf course I was familiar with from a past visit. Ben and I played this seaside course on a previous visit. It was July when we played it which is the middle of their winter. Conditions that day were a challenge; windy, cold, with occasional sleet and snow flurries. Until we sold the house I still had the fleece jacket I bought in the pro shop that day.
We're in ports every day from now until the end of the cruise, Tuesday, November 8.....Election Day! We may never return!
 |
| At the "Turnaround" on the Taieri Gorge Railway |
 |
| Milford Sound |
