March 29, 2014. Solstice. A Spectacular Day.

The weather started out badly. The sea was rough and the air war foggy. The first event of the day was to visit Dusky Sound, another one of the long fiords on the west coast. At 9:00, the Captain informed us that we could not enter Dusky Sound. The entrance was narrow and with the wind blowing at over 15K.per hour, he thought it best to keep us safe. Ken and I had ordered room service breakfast so we enjoyed watching the fog while drinking our coffee.. By noon, the weather had improved. We ate lunch at the Tuscan restaurant, which has full floor to ceiling windows, so we had planned to eat lunch while cruising Doubtful Sound, named by Capt. Cook. Our table was right by the window so our view was perfect. Again, the New Zealand fiords are gorgeous. The final fiord of the day was Milford Sound. The Tasman Sea was still foggy but when we turned to enter Milford Sound, the sun came out and the sky was blue. We sat on our balcony and watched the waterfalls and the rocks pass before our eyes. We had seen Milford Sound before but today the scenery seemed especially dramatic. Perhaps being on a larger ship from deck 10 made everything bigger. And the water was calm too. Today started out badly but ended on a high note. Tonight, we said goodbye to New Zealand!! Now we are heading west to Australia.