I was startled awake at 6:45 AM by the roaring sound of an engine which had just been turned on. I looked out of the tiny peephole window in our room and to my dismay it was pouring. When we looked at the fjords surrounding us waterfalls had formed in every crevice. The cliffs were pin-striped from the waterfalls. Even though it was too uncomfortable to go out on deck that morning the sight was truly something else as the whole landscape had been painted with bubbling white water. The boat went very near one waterfall and our nature guide filled a container with water so we could drink it. Another benefit of the rain was that there were no sand flies in sight.

Doubtful Sound in Mist

By noon we were back on land out of the waterfall wonderland and were on our way to Milford Sounds just to take the postcard picture and see the Homer Tunnel. It continued to rain and the cliffs along the windy road to Milford was again painted with waterfalls. When we arrived in Milford it wasn’t raining anymore and we went for a walk. We noticed about five various tour companies competing for the busloads of tourists who came to Milford. Seeing this and the constant tour boat traffic on the fjord, we knew we had made the right decision by going on a cruise on the Doubtful Sound because we were the only cruise ship on the fjord. The famous Miter Peak was visible from shore so we took lots of pictures.

Miter Peak

As we drove away from Milford the sky cleared, the waterfalls stopped and all around us the sky opened revealing jagged snow covered peaks, so we had to stop and take lots of pictures along the way was well. Then we headed south to Invercargill so we could do the southern route tomorrow.

Finally Sun