Blogs from Fiordland National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 2

Doubtful Sound, named by Captain Cook as a doubtful harbour. The westerly roaring forties would have taken him in, but he wasn't sure he'd get any wind to take him out. The Maori name is Patea, meaning ‘place of silence’ and it was, when the skipper of the 36 metre catamaran, switched off everything and asked us all to be quiet and listen to the silence. It was certainly a wilderness full of moss, ferns and undergrowth clinging to the perpendicular rock faces. Yesterday's rain meant the waterfalls were all running and today's sunshine made everything gleam. New Zealand is the cleanest place I have ever been to, and there was no litter anywhere. The flotsam in Doubtful Sound consisted of organic matter only - leaves, twigs and branches from the tree avalanches. Wilmott Pass, the ... read more

Blog 19 Hobart, Tasmania – Fiordland National Park, New Zealand, March 30-April 2 ,2018 Friday, March 30th - Weather forecast: mostly sunny, daytime temperature of 18°C; wind speed 16kts (5 Beaufort) We left port on time and headed out to sea for a full two-day passage over to New Zealand. Saturday, March 31st – Weather forecast: cloudy, daytime temperature of 15°C; wind speed 14kts (4 Beaufort) We were pleasantly surprised when we received an invitation to the Mariner’s Award Ceremony and discovered we had actually achieved 300 days of sailing time and would be awarded our silver medals. The next level is gold achieved after 500 days sailing. Our 5-star Mariner status will come sooner as it is calculated by combining our days sailed plus credit for ship-board expenses. Following the award ceremony, we enjoyed lunch ... read more

New Zealand is home to some unique and remarkable scenery. Dramatic fjords, impressive volcanoes, rugged rolling hills, striking mountains, eye-catching glaciers and sweeping coastlines make this country a hugely popular tourist destination and for the adventure minded traveller New Zealand has to be among the very best. After travelling through this lovely country for almost a month I do understand why people speak so highly about it. One of my main reasons for coming to New Zealand was to explore some of the hiking and trekking routes around the country. I knew my options were many and plentiful and when I left my homecountry I already had an idea on what and where I wanted to go. My only slight worry was that the somewhat rough and unpredictable weather parts of this country sometimes receives, would ... read more

Als we ‘s ochtends wakker worden is het schitterend weer, wel een beetje koud. We ontbijten voor onze Jucy en kijken uit over Lake Hawea. In een klein halfuur rijden we Wanaka binnen, een populaire plaats bij veel (jonge) Nieuw-Zeelandgangers, omdat je in de omgeving veel activiteiten kan doen, zoals bungee-jumpen. Je merkt dat hier een andere sfeer hangt, er zijn veel cafeetjes en winkls. De plaats ligt mooi aan het gelijknamige meer en de herfst heeft hier al duidelijk zijn intrede gedaan. Veel bomen zijn prachtig rood en geel gekleurd. Dat vinden ook de Chinezen, die hier en masse met hele dure lenzen de herfstkleuren aan het vastleggen zijn. Wij slaan brandstof en boodschappen in en rijden verder langs de oevers van het meer. Overal staan de bomen in vuur en vlam. Na een tijdje ... read more

Geo: -44.6698, 167.928Milford Sound was labelled by Rudyard Kipling as the "eighth natural wonder of the world". Sheer granite cliffs rise out of the inky blue waters while waterfalls cascade down from high above.We had a great time, once again. The weather was beautiful. We met a young German couple on our nature hike, and eat and drank with them until late into the night. We were the last ones to retire to our staterooms for the evening!... read more