Trip Notes Day 11 (Saturday) Fjordland

Trip Notes
Day 11 (Saturday) Fjordland
Woke early for the potential of going on deck to take in the view. Thankfully the ship has a webcam put through to the internal TV system so we lie in bed and watch from there until we could see it was worth getting for.
It appeared to clear a bit so up we went. The cloud and mist was still obscuring the peaks but we could clearly see the sides of the fjords and see how undisturbed the forests are.
Into the buffet for breakfast and a chat with a couple of retired ladies from Melbourne. One had emigrated from Greece just after the war and was on her first cruise. The other used to work on ships all over the world.
After another rest on the cabin we went back to the top deck as the ship prepared to enter Milford Sound. We'd both been on boats from the other end so were both keen to see it from the ocean inwards. While the weather was still patchy there were enough gaps in the clouds for there to be good light for viewing and photography. Neither of us are manic about cameras but we both took a lot of photos as we saw various viewpoints and features. It is easy to see why Milford is the showpiece of the National Park. Incredible too to be on such a large ship plying its way in the narrow but deep fjord. Even at the end of the sound it is hard to believe how close the ship could be to the shore. As we went along we could look up into the transverse valleys - some of which are themselves hundreds of metres about sea level. For being here in Summer we were lucky that there had been so much rain as there was water flowing down the steep slopes at many points and the more famous waterfalls were abundant. There were quite a few boats in the sound, at times taking it in turns to be close to the main waterfall. For that our ship aligned to point the bow directly at it and got astonishing close. The staff photographer was busy shooting couples effectively standing in front of the falls. Compared to everywhere else we've been, the ship moved very slowly (and I presume very carefully) and the whole trip up the sound, turnaround and return to sea took a couple of hours. The time seemed to fly by. Between spotting aspects of scenery (e.g. patches of snow on the peaks), ducking out of spray or drizzle, trying different viewpoints and grabbing a hot drink or fresh baked cookies, the went by too quickly.
We happened to be promenading on the right (well Port actually) side of the ship when we saw the Pilot boat coming out to meet us. Lee watched them do the transfer - a mix of passing over a suitcase, attaching lines and leaping a la James Bond - all achieved just by having the small boat run alongside the huge ship as it continued up the sound.
For a day just spent on ship we were surprisingly tired and slept the first half of the evening. Thinking it not wise to sleep too much before nightfall we went up to the buffet for dinner. As we were now heading straight into open sea Lee could sense the re-beginning of sea sickness.
Back in the cabin we watched a documentary about an American art theft. We'd caught part of it by accident earlier in the week but then had to be elsewhere and were keen to find out what happened.