New Year, New Adventure: Part 5

On the third day of crossing the Tasman Sea, the sun was blotted out by low clouds, mist and rain. The weather went from sun and swimming pool to sweaters and rain slickers. We used that time to take a tour of the ship’s working spaces.

The tour showed off the kitchens, storage, engineering and laundry spaces. Here one of the bakers is assembling desserts.

One of the several produce lockers on the ship.

After the lower decks, we were shown the bridge and navigation department. It was awesome to see the crew and spaces, and get a better understanding of how a ship works.

Just after breakfast on the fourth day out from Sydney, a land mass emerged from the gloom. It was no doubt similar to what Abel Janszoon Tasman and crew saw in 1642. While Tasman took his ships northeast in search of an anchorage, our ship went southeast and entered New Zealand’s remarkable Milford Sound.

The low clouds and rain clung to the tops of the mountains, adding to the already dramatic water falls.

Understanding the scale of the terrain was made much easier by the referencing the tour vessels operating in the sound.

Departing the Milford Sound, the ship turned south to round the tip of New Zealand’s South Island. The howling 40 knot wind and 15-20 foot waves were examples of the conditions that earned this latitude the moniker “Roaring Forties.” After a bouncy night, everybody was looking forward to making port the next morning.