February 28 - Dusky, Doubtful & Milford Sounds

February 28 – Dusky, Doubtful & Milford Sound

Captain James Cook’s 1770 Voyage along New Zealand’s rugged west coast had already yielded his discovery of the magnificent Milford Sound.  As he piloted farther down the coast, the captain found several more enticing fjord channels.

New Zealand’s south island has 14 major sounds on their west coast.  We floated through 3 of them, Dusky, Doubtful & Milford.  Our weather was not the greatest, but the cloud layers did give a mysterious look to the granite cliffs that form each fiord.

Rick and I are reminded of the views in Desolation Sound in British Columbia as we traveled through each of the 3 major sounds, but are always impressed by the magnificent fjords and the numerous waterfalls found in each.

The pictures are self explanatory.  Enjoy the beauty.  Eventually, the sun came out as we were ready to exit Milford Sound.  The guys from the Photography Dept. were in a helicopter, getting great shots of the ship.

Enjoy!  Cheers!

Entering Dusky Sound early in the morning

Really cool early morning picture.  The clouds added a mysterious quality to the experience

Dusky Sound

Quiet Doubtful Sound.  Capt. Cook named it Doubtful when he first saw it, because
he was doubtful his ships could navigate the fjord

Doubtful Sound

The clouds just draped around the mountains looked so interesting

The 2011 earthquake in Christchurch lead to numerous landslides in the Sounds

One of several small tour boats used by visitors to see the Sounds up close and personal

Some of the many waterfalls in Milford Sound

Bowen Falls at the end of Milford Sound

A tour boat in Milford with our photographers in the helicopter

Our photographers taking pictures of the ship in Milford Sound

Sunshine!!

The smaller tour boats can go right up into the spray of the falls for a extra thrill