Have I told you how much I love these days when we stay on the ship and the scenery comes to us? I know I have, but have I mentioned it lately?
Sorry. Just a little throwback for my own amusement.
I wasn’t the only one wondering last night if the scenery would actually be coming to us today. It was so rough overnight that a fellow guest I spoke with today said that she didn’t sleep all night, upset at the mere possibility of missing the fiords. Well, she needn’t have worried. We didn’t get into two of the fiords today (Doubtful/Thompson), but we did fairly well. Ranger Ian Thorpe pointed out, in his narration from the bridge, that it had taken multiple attempts for the pilot and him to get aboard at 7am, because the sea was so rough. That’s scary. He also said that, at 4am, when it was raining buckets with thunder and lightning in the park, he was pretty sure they wouldn’t have to even try. In the end, we got pretty lucky today.
We watched our initial entry into Milford Sound from our breakfast table in the DaVinci Dining Room, but were out on the open decks before we had even reached the closed end of the fiord. We first watched from the Promenade Deck as those passengers who had booked the overland excursion were picked up by a local tour boat. They spent the day seeing Fiordland National Park by land, will spend tonight in a hotel and then reboard the ship tomorrow in Port Chalmers.
Near the closed end of Milford Sound, passengers doing an overnight overland excursion were picked up by a Milford Sound tour boat.
Milford Sound is the most visited part of Fiordland National Park. It is on the far northern end of the park, the youngest part geologically, as evidenced by the narrower fiord and the higher mountains lining it. The only road into the park comes into the closed end of Milford Sound; the rest of the park is not accessible by road. We’re lucky that, on a cruise, we see parts of the park seldom seen by visitors.
We went all over the ship while it was in Milford Sound, from the area over the bridge to the jogging track on Deck 19 in the back. It was chilly, but not too cold. Those passengers who didn’t come prepared wore MUTS blankets, pool towels...anything to stay warm. Luckily, it didn’t rain while we were in Milford Sound, though there were very low hanging clouds in places. But the waterfalls were unsurprisingly incredible today. Every time we visit Fiordland National Park, it’s different.
This first set of photos was taken in Milford Sound:
Loved all the low hanging clouds
Kayakers
This is not a black and white photo; Milford Sound at its moodiest, deep in the fiord.
Lots of blue sky, too
While I was standing above the bridge, I noticed the name of the beach stenciled on the crew pool deck.
Some people came very prepared for the scenery!
Waterfalls everywhere
This waterfall started at the top of the mountain and repeatedly
appeared and disappeared as it fell down to the water.
It turned out to be a beautiful morning.
Since Milford Sound is a closed fiord, the Ruby Princess did a 180 degree turn at the end and sailed back out to the Tasman Sea to travel south along the west coast of the South Island to Doubtful Sound. As soon as we reached the open ocean, that same westerly wind that had been behind the ship yesterday was hitting it on the starboard side and it got as rough as anything we’ve seen so far this season. In our cabin on Deck 14 aft, it was difficult to even stand up. We opted to skip the 10am Princess Theater lecture on the park by Ranger Ian Thorpe (we’ve already heard it this season) and instead just laid in bed watching TV. It was too hard to move around.
By 11am, heavy rain was added to the heavy wind and, though I never heard an announcement about it, it was pretty obvious we would not be getting into Doubtful Sound, which connects to Thompson Sound. We wouldn’t have been able to see anything if we had. We decided to go to lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room, mostly because it was easier than trying to navigate in the Horizon Court Buffet.
Day 8 lunch menu, page 1
Day 8 lunch menu, page 2
We returned to the cabin afterward, but had the TV tuned to the ship’s webcam channel, over which the ranger’s narration was being broadcast. We knew if we eventually made it into the final fiords, we’d find out about it there. Around 3pm, we could see the rain had stopped and the Ruby Princess turned toward land. Ian began to tell us about Breaksea Sound which leads to Dusky Sound at the southern end of the park. That was my cue to return to an outside deck. I started on the Terrace Deck but made my way up to the jogging track on Deck 19 just as the skies opened again.
And that set the stage for the rest of the afternoon. It would clear up one minute and rain the next. In between storms, I was able to get a few photos. Dusky Sound is at the oldest end of the park. The fiord is wider and the mountains lower as more erosion has occurred.
In the Acheron Passage between Breaksea and Dusky Sounds
Making the turn from the Acheron Passage to Dusky Sound
The weather this afternoon was wild. This was a short glimpse of blue sky in between sideways rains.
By 4pm we were leaving the park, and we raced back to the cabin to shower before we reached the ocean and it got rough again. And it sure did. We went up to the Elite Lounge in Skywalkers and it was a real ride up there. It was nice to return to the DaVinci Dining Room on Deck 6 midship for dinner; it’s amazing how much more stable it is there.
Day 8 dinner menu, page 1
Day 8 dinner menu, page 2
Day 8 dessert menu
I hadn’t been to a show in two or three nights and needed to fix that tonight. Both vocalists from recent shows performed and it was quite good. It’s always better when a show is accompanied by the orchestra.
I’ve mentioned these new motion sensitive lights in the cabin. Apparently they are not being well received. The cabin stewards were taking an informal poll about passengers’ feelings two days ago. We talked with a man with his arm in a sling yesterday. He had fallen in the closet area when the light turned off after 15 seconds and left him in the dark. I’m glad we had ours adjusted to 50 seconds, but it’s still taking some getting used to. G says it’s like living inside a refrigerator; lights are constantly going on and off. He’s absolutely right. ;-)
Day 8 Princess Patter, page 1
Day 8 Princess Patter, page 2
Day 8 Princess Patter, page 3
Day 8 Princess Patter, page 4