Shhhh, can you hear it?

Lake Ohau, New Zealand – 17 February 2011 at 10:23pm
Kansas City, USA - February 17, 2011 at 3:23pm

Yesterday morning we departed Queenstown after three fantastic days and made our way south toward the Doubtful Sound where we boarded the Fiordland Navigator…our home for the night. From what I later learned we were schedule to board a vessel in Milford Sound but there was a mix up in the booking and the tour company (not Top Deck) double booked our group as well as a group from Contiki (another tour company) so lucky for us we were the group that got the free upgrade! (Whoever has added me to their daily prayer list…thank you!) Apparently Milford sound is beautiful but it is a little more touristy…as in about 20 boats cruise the area compare to Doubtful Sound which only has four boats in the water. Needless to say we didn’t see anyone else until we came ashore the next morning.

We arrived at the docks in the early afternoon and boarded a ferry for a 45 minute boat ride across a beautiful lake to another set of docks, where we unloaded from the ferry and boarded a bus that would take us deeper into the fiord's to yet another boat dock where we boarded the Fiordland Navigator.

All of our luggage was being kept on the Top Deck tour bus except for an overnight bag that we took on board. On shore we were greeted by the friendly staff who welcomed us aboard. We were directed to the dining lounge where the staff went over the basic guidelines of the tour (sleeping arrangements, meal times, safety rules, etc.) and then we were shown to our sleep quarters.

Again, it’s me, the Twinkies and Maria for the night, although we will not be spending any time in this little shoebox except to sleep.

The Navigator holds about 50-60 people and I think we have somewhere between 30-35 people in our group alone so it was an intimate setting.

Once we set sail they informed us of a couple of activity options for that day…you could either do a scenic tour of the fiord's in a tender boat or….drum roll please….kayak! I chose kayaking. I had wanted to kayak since I arrived in New Zealand…success, another item ticked off the list. The staff again went over the safety instructions and told us where to go to participate in each activity. We grabbed life jackets and a paddle and made our way to the back of the boat to launch our kayaks. Woo hoo!

The day was…again…perfect. When we boarded the boat they told us that it had been raining for two weeks…but fortunately for us it was a bright sunshiny day. They also informed us that they hadn’t seen any dolphins for about one or two weeks either but we were got lucky again and saw two pods…one with 57 dolphins and another with 37. I couldn’t have asked for a better trip!


Rachel kayaking...notice the boat in the background


After kayaking I went to the bow of the boat to hang out and get some sun. I met two girls from the US. One was from Michigan and the other from Boston. It was fun to run into some other Americans. It seems like most of the tourists are Europeans, which is awesome but it is also very nice to catch up with someone from the homeland.

The one interesting thing I always notice when I’m traveling is when you start talking with another American the first question after the general pleasantries is “What do you do?” It’s never, how is your trip, how long are you here for, when do you have to go home, what’s been your favorite part so far, do you have a family, siblings, etc…. It’s always, “Hi, I’m so and so from wherever….what’s your name, where are you from and what do you do?” It just seems odd and a little funny to me now that I’ve been out of the competitive rat race for awhile. My identity doesn’t reside in my job title (although it really never has for me). But for the record they were both very sweet and yes, they told me what they do for a living, one was a lawyer and the other worked at a college in Boston….and they have NEVER taken a two week vacation before! I was shocked. It was like opening Pandora’s Box for these girls… I think they will be taking more vacations in the future! My philosophy, if you are going to work hard you should play hard as well.

Later in the evening came the call over the loud speaker that it was time for dinner so we all gathered in the dining area once again for a delicious meal. They had everything…my favorite item on the menu…the green tipped muscles, a native of New Zealand.

Between dinner and dessert we made our way to the back (stern you nautical peeps) of the boat to watch the sunset. It was pretty incredible but I have to say some of my favorite sunsets are in Kansas during the month of February. The weather is typically cool/cold so the air is really thin and crisp and you can see right through it without a haze and since it is so flat you can see for miles and miles. Whenever I need a “happy visual,” like when you go to give blood and they say, ‘think of a time you were really happy,’ I always think of driving, in the direction of the sunset, on my way home from the ballpark (when I worked for the Royals) on 435 Highway around State Line road… and it was February… I miss Kansas sunsets… (the detailed description is for my new international friends who have not been to Kansas…yet)

After dinner we watched a slide show about the discovery of NZ (Captain Cook and his wild adventures), specifics about the fiord's and the wildlife in the area, that was narrated by one of the guides on the boat, then we all went outside to do some stargazing – again, incredible…I love looking at the stars, they are so much brighter down here…by the way, Kansas also has some amazing stargazing…in fact, my little home town has an observatory (I’m hoping these little bits of advertising for the Midwest will increase tourism) and then we played cards until way too late in the night.

Captain Dave

Around 6am the Captain made an announcement over the intercom…apparently a guy by the name of Nick overslept and was late to report for his morning duties…needless to say everyone on the entire boat was up and about ready to beat up Nick…one of the twins from California who works on the boat.

Breakfast on board was also delicious…they had anything you could want…I can attest that the yogurt, fruit and toast was delicious.

On our way back to the docks, Captain Dave took us into a cove to listen to “The Sound of Silence.” Have you ever heard it? Everyone was told to be very still and quiet, then he shut off the engine…and just when he did a plane or helicopter, some sort of aircraft, flew over and ruined it….but we continued to wait, some more patiently than others, until we finally heard the complete stillness of the fiord's. It’s a little eerie but still pretty cool.

Next Captain Dave showed off some of his crafty driving skills by maneuvering the boat within inches of a cliff without touching it (not even the mast touched)…it was pretty impressive but I’m sure you would have to have been there to appreciate it.

After showing us his fancy footwork, or wheel work, whatever you want to call it, we made our way back to the dock, where we said goodbye to the staff, boarded the bus and then the ferry to make it back to our tour bus and then headed toward Lake Ohau, which is where we are at the moment.

Lodge at Lake Ohau

Lake Ohau is a big lake that is situated in between several mountains. We are staying at the local lodge, which happens to be the only building in the area for miles. It is located on the ski fields (obviously not in use at the moment) and overlooks the lake.

Tonight is our last night as a group before we make our way back to Christchurch tomorrow. So when we arrived everyone dropped their stuff and headed down to the lake to hangout before dinner. The lake is absolutely beautiful.



Lake Ohau





Additional Photos: Doubtful Sound
Additional Photos: Lake Ohau