Cruise On, Matey!

Thursday, December 28

Words cannot describe what we experienced today.

OK, I'll give it a try. An early morning awaits us, but the sun beats us up. 7am on a vacation is too early. I should disclose at this point that the writings found here are the perceptions and observations of Melissa and do not necessarily reflect those held by others in the party. Packing layers of clothing and snacks, we drive to Milford Sound. The drive is utterly breath-taking. And I am utterly exhausted. Prying my eyes open every five minutes at the delighted exclamations from my sister, I am overwhelmed at the beauty surrounding us. It begins to rain. Of course the drive begins with fields and fields of sheep. At this point, I will leave you to assume there are fields of sheep unless I say otherwise. The view changes drastically as mountains rise up around us. At this moment, every rainbow, every adorable baby, every delicious meal is wiped from my memory and replaced. In my head an orchestra serenades triumphantly as the mountains rush upwards higher and higher. Like the fields, they are brilliantly green from all the rain. As we watch the beauty unfold, white streams trickle down the mountains. As the rain continues, the streams become rivers, frothing white gold crashing vertically into the fields. And this is the beauty I cannot describe.

Arriving in Milford Sound, we find a lodge, a cafe and little else. Leaving our car in the car park, we walk to the cafe. We are early for our cruise so have time to people watch as others come and go. This seems to be the main building in town and meeting place. There are people from all over the world and it's almost like the Tower of Babel with the languages spoken simultaneously. The smell of coffee and tea and biscuits permeates the room as I watch others struggle to wake up also. Tea is the preferred drink over coffee and the locals usually have two tea breaks every day during the week. "Tea" is also used when referring to supper.

We see the shuttle that goes to the harbour from where our cruise will commence. Noticing the distance isn't too far and it's not raining, we decide to walk. I must mention, the weather here can change drastically and instantaneously. It rains 7 out of 10 days in Milford Sound, but is more accurately described as 7/10 of each day. Sometimes 7/10 of each hour. Most places have seasons throughout the year, but even the locals in Milford Sound agree that they can have seasons throughout one day. The exquisite beauty is directly related to the amount of rain. It can rain as much in one day in Milford Sound as it does in one year in London. Enough perspective? We are grateful for our jackets even when having to lug them around in the heat.

In the harbour, we watch as passengers board their ships. There are several cruise options. We choose the "Nature Cruise" which is the longest day cruise. We considered going overnight, but were unable to do that and dive the next day. Our ship is three stories; the first level contains rooms for overnight guests, the second level contains tables for viewing the sights from indoors, and the third level is outside. The ship can take roughly 75 passengers for overnight trips, but since this is a day cruise we have several more than that on board. Leaving the dock, our experience begins immediately with a huge waterfall crashing down the mountain to our right. It is called "Bustle Falls", named by an adoring husband for the bustle of his wife's dress.

Our ship skirts the edges of the sound as waterfalls crash uncontrollably around us. Looking up at the powerful explosion of water reinforced the wonder of God and His creation. God, not millions of years of erosion and plate movement, created this fiordland. The tops of the mountains are engulfed by clouds. Occasionally the peaks can be seen poking through the clouds and are surprisingly covered with snow. Let me paint the picture. Snow-capped mountains peaking through clouds. Brilliant foaming waterfalls race past glaciers down the luscious green mountainsides on both sides of us into the ocean inlet below. Behind us rises Mitre Peak, the highest vertical peak to come out of an ocean in the world. With such a designation, there had to be some bloke (silly person) that had to climb it. Of course, two American men attempted the climb. One sunny morning, they started up the mountain. Half-way up it began to rain. Obviously that is not so uncommon, but somehow they were not prepared. It rained for two days during which time the two men fought over the last granola bar and whose idea it was to climb in the first place. The story goes that eventually the rain cleared and they were able to summit.

In front of us, the inlet opens up into the wild ocean. The ship begins to rise with the swells of the open sea. At the mouth of the inlet is Seal Rock. It's not difficult to guess, but on the rocks are New Zealand Fur Seals, which are actually sea lions. Back along the other side of the sound towards the harbour, we pass the Upside Down Gardens. This is best experienced by standing with your back towards the mountains, hands gripping the railing, leaning backwards against the railing, and looking up the side of the mountain. What we see is amazing. Upside down, the vertical mountainside looks just like a horizontal lush park with grass and full-grown trees. Moving on, we head directly into a waterfall. Yes, into. Several feet of the bow of the ship is under the waterfall spraying those of us closest. The water crashes onto the bow flooding the floor. In turn, we brace ourselves as close as possible to the falls for pictures. Looking up, the waterfall appears massive, but not compared to the mountain on which it resides, so it's shocking to learn that the waterfall is 3 times the height of Niagara Falls. During one of my trips indoor to rest from the rain, a friendly local engaged me in conversation. He gave recommendations of what to eat, see and do. The ship made a stop at the Underwater Observatory, where Mom and Dad decided to see the underwater world from the dryness of indoors. Amy and I stayed on the ship to meet them back at the dock since we figured we'd see everything live and in person tomorrow.

I cannot count the number of times it rained today. But the cruise finally has to end. We loved it heaps (alot). We take our time driving out of Fiordland, stopping at every scenic turn-out. Milford Sound and Fiordland drop below us as we spiral up the mountain. We drive past glaciers which are hollow due to waterfalls gushing under them. The waterfalls gush after each periodic rainfall. At one turn-out we find a trailhead to Marian Lake. Anticipating a 20-minute hike, the trail first comes to a swinging bridge over a rushing river. Ten person maximum on the bridge emphasizes the stability (or lack thereof) of the structure. Following the river, the trail becomes a boardwalk with the left side encrouched by the mountains and the right edge stretching over the river. Twenty minutes later, the meandering trail becomes strenuous as it reaches up the mountain. Two hours of tramping (hiking) later, we begin to wonder whether this lake exists. Hikers coming down affirm us in our pursuit. Two and a half hours later, we arrive. Exhaustion enhances the view. Lake Marian is nestled at the base of snow-covered mountains, providing a remote retreat for weary hikers. Providentially it didn't rain during the whole hike.

Back on the road, we come across a field of lupine. Brilliant pinks, purples, whites, and blues start at the river and extend beyond our eye's limit. With all the stops, we roll into (not literally) Te Anau around 9pm. After a few attempts, we finally find a restaurant still open where pizza, salad, apple crumble pie, and passion fruit sundae (or course) are on the menu and then in our bellies. Bedtime. Morning will be here all too soon.