Two sea days ahead of us before sailing through the fjords and sounds of Fiordlands National Park then onto Dunedin, NZ.

Leaving Melbourne, we passed easterly between the Furneaux Group of Islands and Tasmania. The gap between the islands is called the Banks Strait and forms the lower section of the Bass Strait which separates Tasmania from the Australian mainland.

On our second sea day we continued south easterly across the Tasman Sea. Forming a marginal sea on the boarder of the Pacific Ocean the Tasman Sea is some 1200 miles wide and spans 1700 miles from north to south. The southern part of the sea to the south of New Zealand is well known for strong storms which form part of the Roaring Forties of the Southern Ocean.

Fiordland is the Largest National Park in New Zealand and one of the largest in the world. It has been recognized as one of the world’s foremost natural landscapes through its inclusion in Te Wahipounamu – Southwest New Zealand world heritage area. Fiordland National Park, known as Te Rua-o-te-moko (Shadowland), stretches from Martins Bay in the north to Te Waewae Bay in the south, and from eastern lakes of Te Anau, Manapouri, Monowai and Hanuroko to the 14 spectacular Fiords of the West Coast. Fiordland stands apart as a region of distinct character, made up mainly of hard crystalline rocks which are as old as any in New Zealand.

We arrived at 8:30 and began our passage through Milford Sound, only two ships are allowed in the sound at one time since after about 24 km the ships need to retrace the trip back to the sounds entrance. This is a glacier formed fiord with banks rising 2100 ft mostly vertical with the tallest at 1750 meters and with a depth of 300 meters.

Leaving Milford, we travelled south along the South Island of New Zealand to Thompson and Doubtful Sounds – these were formed by the flow of rivers heading to the Southern Ocean. As we proceeded the weather continued to decline and upon reaching the ocean our captain informed us that we were going to skip entering Dusky Sound because swells were growing, and winds were approaching 50 knots – the roaring 40’s struck with its noted wind and rain – on to Dunedin.