Sunday February 3
The highlight of our trip was an overnight cruise in one of the longest inlets in all Fiordland, Doubtful Sound. The weather was clear, the meandering shoreline deepest green, and sunset on the Tasman Sea unruffled except by dusky dolphins and sea lions that appeared and basked for our delectation. Magical.
We admire how these cruises manage to give a whole bunch of unrelated people of many nations and all ages the correct balance of amusement (in our case, nature watching and a bit of blue-lipped swimming), picture-taking, quiet, company, drinking, sleeping, and eating. The eating is especially chancy, as people tend to be particular about food. So the general rule is, bring on the buffet!
The other general rule is just as important: keep the bar open. So we progressed from an early bottle of BenSen merlot (which we carried all over the decks as the scenery demanded) to a Matariki pinot noir that took us through dinner.
There were many salads to start with, though we stuck to the Greek variety - quite good. The many main courses included thick cuts of lightly-smoked salmon (the best choice) with waldorf salad; a chicken curry; and carved roast lamb and beef; all with their requisite accompaniments. There were also assorted vedge, though we stuck with the very tasty roast herbed kumara and potatoes.
For dessert, Kiwi pride made it essential to have a slice of pavlova, more meringue than anything; and just a nibble of the dense chocolate cake. There was also a nice service of New Zealand local cheeses, which went well with the last of the pinot noir before we took a last stroll of the moonlit deck and fell into the twin bunks in our tiny but well-equipped cabin. Only the dawn chorus of bellbirds - and the starting of the ship's engines - would awaken us.
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