Fiordland National Park…..Dunedin…….Pat’s Musings

Hello everyone! Sorry we haven’t posted more frequently, but the internet service here on the ship is atrocious. I don’t think the network has been this slow since Al Gore invented the damn thing…. Anyway, I have a couple posts. First is Fiordland National Park which was absolutely stunning. Second is the City of Dunedin….settled by Scots (felt right at home there) and some musings and thoughts from Pat. She would probably write more often if she could get near a computer. Something I pledged to her as we continue our trip.


Fiordland National Park

Pat and I got up early to begin our day of Cruising through Fiordland National Park. The park is the largest in New Zealand and occupies a good chunk of the southwest portion of the South Island. This beautiful area is very remote and cruising through it is one of the best ways of seeing it. If you are claustrophobic, get a good grip because it is a tight squeeze for a large ship such as ours. Our first Fiord of the three we visited today is Milford Sound. The opening is very narrow…only 600 yards wide at its narrowest point. It’s so well hidden that the ubiquitous Captain Cook missed the opening entirely on his first survey of the area. As you can see from the pictures, we were really tucked into the sound. I commend the ship’s pilot….he can really turn this craft on a dime. Somehow, he spun the ship around each time and we motored back out of the sound. We hit (not literally…) Milford, Thompson’s and Dusky Sound today.

Fiordland National Park is approximately 3.4 million acres large and represents 5% of New Zealand’s land mass. It was declared a World Heritage area in 1986. The scenery is spectacular to say the least. Peter Jackson used some of Milford Sound as the location for the Lord of the Rings trilogy…..I swear I recognize some of the sights.

Like the Norwegian version, these Fiords are very steep. Some of the mountains top 8,000 feet above sea level and the water depth is 1,000 feet much of the way up the sounds…..running aground was not a concern, scraping some paint on the side of the boat was…kind of like trying to park a Hummer in too small a garage!

As we made our way out of the sounds and towards our next port of call, Port Chalmers, we passed Invercargill. For those who saw it….a terrific movie was filmed there titled “The World’s Fastest Indian” which starred Anthony Hopkins. It told an amazing story of a backyard mechanic named Bert Munro who modified an Indian motorcycle in his garage and set the land speed record with it at the Bonneville Salt Flats ….a record that still stands!

Milford Sound

Milford Sound....port side

Thompson's Sound - Mid day

Dunedin

Rightly proud of their heritage, Dunedin is a terrific little town (129,000) on the Otago coast of New Zealand. Settled by Scots in the early 1800’s, Dunedin has several notable first for a city of this size. Home to Otago University with almost 25,000 students and one of the largest in New Zealand, Dunedin also has the first Cadbury Chocolate Factory outside of England and the only one left that actually gives tours. It is his home to the worlds steepest street, Baldwin Street ( Look it up in the Guiness Book of World Records) and geographically speaking is the 5th largest city in the World!

Architecturally interesting….many of the buildings look like something I would find in England. The Train station was particulary beautiful and well restored. I don’t have a picture of it here, but the City and University have combined to build an entirely covered Rugby stadium (200MM project). Not sure how they afford the number of building and restoration projects that seem to be going on but the results are a great town and Pat’s favorite….she is ready to move here!

Dunedin Train Station

Cadbury Chocolate Factory - Near Train Station

Steepest Street in the World!

Pat’s Entry

Bonarong Wildlife Sanctuary was really wonderful , a highlight for me…the kangaroos and wallabys were very friendly and loved to be scratched on the chest! We saw several species only native to Tasmania, and endangered as well… wombats look like giant roly-poly guinea pigs, cute as can be. The Tasmanian devils are just adorable and quite funny to watch We were talking to one of the keepers and upon hearing her voice, the tazzie came right around to the fence sniffing the air for her. They don’t see very well but have a great sense of smell! Many become quite attached to the staff, partly because all of the ones here at the sanctuary are orphans., Tazzies are very much in danger..a terrible form of cancer has developed which kills them within six months and is passed on by their natural aggressive actions to each other, yelling and mouthing each other and biting. More than 80% have died since 1996. No cure yet in sight, though the experts are working hard for one. The ones in the sanctuary are free of the disease and doing well. What a tragedy it would be to lose them, they are truly a treasure.

Hobart, Tasmania was a real surprise! I’m not sure what I expected, but not such a sophisticated little town. Great restaurants, shopping, wonderful history. This is a place one could retire, and evidently many Australians do. I absolutely ,loved it!

So far I have acquired a stuffed kangaroo, a stuffed Tazzie and two stuffed koalas! Chris is not thrilled.



That’s all for now….Next Stop Taranga!