cruising the fjords

Coming out of one of the fjords. This should have been the LAST picture. Oh well...
There are SEALS on those rocks. I think one of them mooned TK...
cold and pristine flowing waterfalls in Milford Sound
One of the beautiful waterfalls, with smaller sightseeing boats that got to get close up and personal!
twice is good
twice is good
Some of the small islands we cruised by. I'm sure you can tell how cold and windy it was...
TK relaxing on one of the heated ceramic chaise lounges in the 'Thermal Suite'. There are floor to ceiling windows that you can look out while lounging on the ever-so-comfy chaises.
The toasty steaming warm hot top where I spent a lot of my time watching the beautiful views as we cruised by the fjords. It's pretty much a panoramic view at the front of the ship, on the eighth floor. Much of the time I was in there by myself - my own little warm and tranquil secret!

Heading into one of the fjords (I think this one was Dusky Fjord).



One of the treats of the entire cruise was getting to spend a WHOLE day crusing some of the scenic New Zealand fjords of their south island. The bad news (for me anyway) was the weather. Although it was quite sunny, it was still very cold and windy.

The ship has a spa in it, of course, and one of the exclusive areas is called the 'Thermal Suite'. You have to pay extra to use it, and I got a package that allows me to use it for fourteen of the days I'm on the ship. I have had a few times where I got to enjoy the warmth and serenity of this suite and it gave me the idea of using one of my day passes when we were going through the fjiords.

And let me tell you, it was a BRILLIANT idea! I spent much of the day in solitude (as you know TK isn't what you would call a chatterbox), and I was toasty warm the whole time.

The views were just spectacular, waterfalls crashing into the water, snow on some of the mountain peaks and trees, trees and more trees. They looked like so many bunches of broccoli covering every square inch of land. Actually, the mountains are made up of mostly granite, or granite-like rock - no dirt! So the roots of all the trees are all intertwined with each other as they grow.

The area is, of course, not inhabited. Nobody around. Just so natural and beautiful and serene.

We actually said through four different areas during the course of the day and I apologise I don't have too many pictures, but trust me on the beauty! Oh, and I even saw some dolphins hopping in and out of the water on our way out of one of the sounds!

Now just trying to gear up for our next seven days - where we are in a different port each and every day! Still working on some of the picture issues. Things we probably be a bit out of order for then next week or so, but I am going to try my best to keep things as current as I can!



TINY KONA'S TRUISM of the DAY... If this is just the beginning of the beauty of New Zealand, we may just have to turn KIWI.