22. Two days at sea, Milford Sound, and Dunedin

. Having tea with sandwiches and scones

Next we spent two days crossing from Tasmania to New Zealand. Our second day at sea we tried “afternoon tea” in the formal dining room on the ship where they serve tea, along with scones, other pastries, and sandwiches. It was a lot of fun, but very filling so we did not make it priority to go again. I think the thick cream they served with the scones made it extra delicious, but extra filling.

Milford Sound

Two waterfalls

The third day we arrived at Milford Sound around 7am. The sounds down here are actually misnamed as they are really fjords, but no one at the time knew the difference between a sound and a fjord (carved from glaciers). They were beautiful and reminded me a lot of the fjords of Norway and a little like the inside passage of my Alaska cruises. Tall green mountains towering over the waterway with melting snow running off them in beautiful high, long waterfalls. We went into Milford Sound, turned around, and exited. The next ones in Fjordland National Park were connected so we went into Thompson Sound and exited out Doubtful Sound, then into Breaksea Sound and out of Dusky Sound. The weather varied quite a bit from sunny to cloudy and sometimes rainy so we were quite happy to spend much of it on our sheltered balcony.

More Milford Sound

Me at Milford Sound

Milford Sound

Doubtful Sound

Caramel Tart

Right around this time was also when Audrey brought us back my favorite dessert. The server told her they always disappeared quickly so she should grab them while she could so she got two and took them to our cabin. They didn’t look that special, like a Ding Dong with whipped cream on top. Boy was I wrong. The bottom is like a crunchy toffee cookie with creamy caramel something in the middle, covered with a thin layer of hard chocolate and topped with whipped cream. A-ma-zing! I thought the vanilla slice was good (vanilla cream surrounded by flaky pastry sides and topped with whipped cream) but this was even better. They were called caramel tarts and I was able to snag one a couple more times during the rest of the cruise.

Audrey's straight

We played Farkle and Diane had these lucky black dice. By the end of the cruise the luck had worn off but my very first roll they were chock full of luck and I rolled a straight. Then Audrey rolled a straight and three pair on her roll. Then on my second roll I rolled 3 pair, then another straight, then four 1’s. Anyone who knows Farkle (aka Joe’s game) knows how unusual that is. And yes, they were proper rolls with the dice bouncing around.

3 pair

my second straight

my four 1's

. rental car in Dunedin

The day after the fjords we arrived in Dunedin and docked in Port Chalmers. We had gotten tickets for OPERA, the refuge for yellow eyed penguins. Our tour started at 10:30 and we needed to catch an Uber to the car rental place in Dunedin, then drive to the OPERA. We were worried about traffic in Dunedin as they say not to trust Google Maps in New Zealand and it takes much longer than they estimate. The ship was to dock at 7am though we were an hour late in Hobart. I booked the Uber for 8:30 to allow for the ship to dock, the official Princess tours and other tours to get off, and possible immigration lines since it was our first dock in New Zealand. We walked right off the ship at 8:00 (I missed the announcement that we could go) and there was no immigration needed. The Uber into town only took 17 minutes with zero traffic, which was less than Google Maps, and driving to the OPERA also had zero traffic. Audrey stepped up and did the driving since Nancy was under the weather and stayed on the ship with Chris. We were an hour early for our tour so we stopped for coffee and I wasn't going to get anything, but I smelled something wonderful, which turned out to be “cheese scones fresh out of the oven” so we all had to get one. I've had several since then on this trip and none compare!

pineapple rock

stopping for coffee and scones

a blue penguin

The tour took us to a hide where we could spy on two molting yellow eyed penguins. Usually you can't see them during the day, but we were lucky that they just started molting so were not out fishing in the ocean. From there we walked over to another area of the refuge and saw a blue penguin (fairy penguin) in its hole/hutch. You can just barely see it's eye. We also saw 5-6 crested penguins and a bunch of fur seals out on the rocks, plus a seal rolling around in the waves. It was very cool.

crested penguins and a fur seal

adult yellow eyed penguins

We saw more yellow eyed penguins at the rehabilitation center. Then we had lunch in town and saw this ice cream place, Rob Roy’s, with tons of people eating ice cream on the street so we knew we had to try it. They had an amazing fig and honey ice cream that was to die for! On the way back we checked out the crafts market, which the locals open up to sell their handcrafted items when the cruise ship is in port. I got some nice thick merino slipper socks since I've been on the hunt for them (they were $12, NZD22). Diane and I also bought stunning necklaces made with their local abalone called paua (for $19 each, 35NZD). Audrey got a beautiful cashmere wrap (for only $80, NZD140). It felt good to contribute to the local economy and pick up some items we really liked.

yellow eyed penguin chick

ice cream at Rob Roy Dairy

Audrey trying on her cashmere wrap

My paua necklace

outside our ship

Nancy and Chris keeping their distance at dinner so they don't get us sick

So at every port, pilots come aboard and navigate the ship into and out of the port waters. They know the area and the currents, rocks, and the dock intimately. So a "pilot boat" comes out to meet the cruise ship, comes alongside, and the pilot transfers onto the cruise ship climbing up a rope ladder and through an open door on the 3rd or 4th floor. After undocking, they steer the ship out of the port and into open water where the pilot boat comes and picks them up. At this port, Diane noticed the pilot boat next to ours and we were able to go down to the 7th floor deck and watch him depart our ship and get onto the local “Pilot boat” to head back to his port.