Doubtful Sound part 3

The night before the crew had warned us that we didn’t need a wake-up call or alarm set because they would be turning on the engines at 6:30 am!  Sure enough at 6:30 the engines started and away we went.  I didn’t want to miss anything so I tried to get ready as quickly as possible.

It was hard even to stop to eat breakfast and not turn my full attention on the views and scenery.  I wasn’t too hungry though because of the feast we’d had the night before!  It was clear and beautiful again.  I spent time on the deck and then went inside to warm up before going out on the deck again and repeating the process over and over again as we sailed Doubtful Sound.  

At one point I was going inside to get more hot beverages when someone asked me if I was Annemarie.  He was a tall, older guy.  I was surprised but said yes I was.  He smiled and introduced himself.  He was also from Seattle and had met the family from Wellington who told him about me.  We had a nice chat about Seattle, living in New Zealand, traveling, and all that kind of thing.  He was on a backpacker’s holiday because his work had told him he had two weeks off and his girlfriend works for Amazon.com and apparently they never get vacation.  So off to New Zealand he came!   

We sailed into one of the arms of the fiord and right into the sunshine!  It was amazing.  I had a cup of tea in my hand and I sat on the deck.  Here we all observed a moment of silence to really experience the sounds of nature.  It was lovely and peaceful.  A moment to be remembered.

Then we slowly sailed back to Deep Cove where the cruise ship harbours.  It was just about time to say goodbye.  I sure wasn’t ready.  I’d been on Doubtful Sound 20 hours, but it wasn’t nearly enough time.  But we had to head back to the buses which would whisk us back to Lake Manapouri.  My new friend from Seattle sat next to me on the bus and boat ride back to Manapouri village.  By now he’s probably back in Seattle.  It just reminds me how great an experience I’m having here in New Zealand.  He only got to spend 10 days or so on the South Island.  He wasn’t even getting to see the North Island.  And here I am still in New Zealand enjoying everything it has to offer!

Doubtful Sound will definitely be a special memory for me here in New Zealand.  I’m starting to really collect them!