How Low Can You Go?

What a difference a day can make – or even as we experienced today an hour.  We woke to a foggy morning out in the Harrison Cove of the Milford Sound.  The rains have stopped, so even if the fog were gone, there are few waterfalls to be seen.  The boat started moving at 7 am, and so did we.  We rode out into the Tasman Sea.  This is a motorized boat that was built 9 years ago to look like an authentic ship from the late 1800s – complete with a set of sails.  It is not a sailboat however since it does not have a keel.  The sails are only used when the boat heads out into the Tasman Sea to help stabilize since the waters are so much rougher out there.                          The fog was still dense as we returned to the fiord.  It is still quite beautiful, but I was disappointed not to be able to see the tops of the peaks around us.  The fur seals were still at the resting place this morning and they always bring a smile to my face.  As promised, we docked at Milford Sound at 9 am and an hour later we were down the road.  As we moved inland, the sun made it’s way through the fog.  The views at this point could change dramatically.  We would stop at one of the overlooks or waterfalls along the way back to Te Anau.  The view could be partially clear and by the time we would return 15 minutes later all was again in clouds.  Take your pictures when you can!                                                          It still took us all day to get back to Te Anau.  We’re right now heading on to Invercargill for our stop tonight.  Did you ever see “The World’s Fastest Indian” with Anthony Hopkins?  It’s about Burt Munro who built his own speed bike.  Burt was from Invercargill.  If you haven’t seen it, we highly recommend it.

Once we arrived at Invercargill, we realized that we do have time to run down to Bluff for the sunset.  Bluff is as far as one can go south on the South Island.  It’s where Highway 1 ends at Land’s End.  To go any further it requires heading over to one of the islands or to Antarctica!  Officially the coordinates are S46 deg 36 min 54 sec E168 deg 21 min 26 sec.

Here’s the sun setting over Stewart Island:                                 

For more pictures, try -

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