Christmas Day Fiordland

Christmas Day and a 7:30 a.m. zodiac ride through Dusky Sound. The water is very calm, but it’s cold with a forecast 12o. We think we've drawn the short straw being the first group. All of Fiordland is carefully controlled so just four zodiacs per ship can be out, same for the other Sounds. We see very steep cliffs carved from glaciers, waterfalls, vegetation more lush than I was expecting clings to rocky outcrops but the sides of rock are still visible. One of those on our zodiac spot Fiordland bottle nosed dolphins nearby. A large pod are feeding close to the edge of the cliffs and come quite close to the zodiac. We are very fortunate to see these endangered dolphins, those on later zodiacs were not as lucky. Further on we see several fur seals and their cubs. It is amazing how well a fur seal can blend in with the rocks. There are birds around although I struggle to recognize any of them.

The day is initially quite overcast, but it clears and we have some sunshine. We go back to the ship for breakfast after an excellent excursion. Our morning presentation is birds of the southern ocean and how to identify them. It was a highly entertaining presentation as they began by describing the difference between a bird watcher (someone who just likes watching birds), a birder (someone who is interested in the names of birds they see) and a twitcher (someone who has a list and obsessively tries to see as many birds as possible). I concluded that given we're at the lecture we must be at least be birders. It was interesting discussing how the NZ birds evolved and why so many became extinct, basically they had no predators so were easy prey for first the Maori and then European settlers. The birds don't try and escape. Many cannot fly because they did not need to escape predators.

There is a lecture on Maori history and culture. The Maori have been in New Zealand for just over 700 years. The treaty of Waitangi is interesting given it is not something we are taught. What happened through the negotiation between the Maori tribes and the European settlers was a treaty based on misunderstandings and miss translations leaving Maoris today feeling less than satisfied. The rest of the day is busy a mandatory quarantine briefing, a recap of our day, music and a gala dinner. This part of the world receives in excess 600 m of rain a year the likelihood of rain is very high, clear conditions are unlikely. We hope the sun god is smiling on us.

Christmas day and a lot of food. Lunch is amazing fresh oysters, prawns, roast duck and a variety of vegetables etc. I eat far too much and wonder how I'm going to fit in the gala dinner. Rather bizarrely there is an announcement Santa will be arriving by zodiac. The first gala dinner is always special, it begins with a speech from the captain, introduction of the key members of the crew, champagne and hors d'oeuvres. Because it is Christmas we start with live entertainment. Dinner is a five course set menu with excellent French wines of course. We have the option to sing and dance the night away again. We decline and head for deck 6 for our usual night cap.Läs mer