The early morning light was as gentle as the breeze, as we sailed up into Milford Sound before sunrise. With each passing moment, more delicate layers of the scene came into view as the daylight grew and as the Heritage Adventurer made its way up this narrow fjord in the remote southwestern corner of New Zealand.
The steep walls of this beautiful fjord, in an area that receives several meters of rain every year, offers many beautiful waterfalls to the passing visitor. Our captain nudged our ship close to the stunning cascade at Stirling Falls, as the pre-dawn light illuminated the snowy peaks beyond.
As the sun rose, we turned around and sailed back out to sea, retracing our path south along the western coast. On board, I gave a lecture on Smartphone Photography to the 139 passengers of this joint voyage – with alumni from Dartmouth, Cornell, Harvard, MIT, and Yale, as well as several travelers from the National Trust. With these new skills, and a hearty lunch, we were ready when the ship pulled into Doubtful Sound.
Doubtful Sound
Like many of the other fjords, islands, and coves around the coast of New Zealand, to which Captain Cook added English names during his three voyages, one gets the impression they were running out of names. (Yesterday, for example, we visited Dusky Sound, so-named because they encountered it at dusk, and Anchor Island, because they had anchored nearby.) Without doubt, however, Doubtful Sound is one of the more beautiful places we visited.
I opted for the hike on Secretary Island, although I was tempted to take the alternative – a Zodiac cruise. Yesterday, those who had cruised (while I was hiking through the mud) saw penguins and seals and lots of interesting wildlife. Nonetheless, I was eager to spend more time ashore. So, after another wet landing, we tramped along a well-defined trail from Grono Bay to Gut Hut, following a route laid out by rangers to manage their pest-control traps and monitoring stations. The trail was less muddy than yesterday, but with more steep ups and downs. I enjoyed conversation with the guide as we learned more about NZ conservation and wildlife.
Along the way we had a glimpse of the beautiful birds, delicate flowers, pretty streams, and tree-sized ferns. I would never have spotted this tiny spider orchid, smaller than my fingernail, without the sharp eyes of our guide!
One stream crossing offered a peek at this small but pretty cascade into a gentle pool.
At the trail’s end, we reached Gut Hut, once used as a base for the park rangers and researchers, and now a small bunkhouse for campers. (I’m not sure from where, because there are no other trails on this island, so perhaps it is for kayakers or others who arrive by boat.) It was a lovely day, and the hut had a beautiful view across Doubtful Sound.
Eventually, and somewhat sadly, we boarded Zodiacs for our trip back to the Heritage Adventurer. It was time to leave Doubtful Sound and continue south.
We sailed south overnight, with Cape Petrels following us until the sun set.
Check out the Milford Sound photo gallery and Doubtful Sound photo gallery.
David Kotz 
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