Halfmoon Bay

Christmas Day for us starts with a 7:30 a.m. zodiac ride through Dusky Sound. The water is very calm, it is still but cold not unsurprising given the time of day we are head out. Forecast is for 12o. We think we've drawn the short straw being the first group. All of Fiordland is carefully controlled and this means just four zodiacs per ship can be out it is the 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 very visible. One of those on our zodiac spot Fiordland bottle nosed dolphins nearby. A large pod of dolphins are feeding close to the edge of the cliffs and come quite close to the zodiac. These dolphins are endangered so we are very fortunate to see them, those on later scheduled zodiacs are not as lucky. Further on from here 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 as we get into the ride further it clears and we have some sunshine. We go back to the ship for breakfast feeling very satisfied with what we have seen this morning. 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 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 at the stage of being birders. It was interesting because they talked about the birds in this part of the world and how they evolved and why so many became extinct. What happened was that because they had no predators they were easy prey for first the Maori and then the European settlers. The birds did nothing to try and get away. Many of the birds cannot fly because they did not have to get out of the way of a predator. Very sad really.

Our lecture this afternoon is on Maori history and culture. We learn so much about how the Maori came to be in New Zealand, where they came from and a little of the background of the waves of migration and how those studying this have been able to unearth the necessary clues needed to put the puzzle together. The Maori have been in New Zealand for just over 700 years which by Australian standards is not very long at all. We learn about the treaty of Waitangi which is particularly interesting because this is not something we are taught. Turns out most of what happened through the negotiation between the Maori tribes and the European settlers was a treaty based on misunderstandings and miss translations. Leaving the Maori today, feeling less than satisfied with their lot. The rest of the day is busy a mandatory quarantine briefing, a recap of what we have just seen, music and a gala evening dinner. And the briefing we are told of the likely where the conditions as we sail towards Milford sound. This part of the world receives in excess 600 m of rain a year which means the likelihood of rain and wind is very high. We understand therefore that clear conditions are unlikely. We hope the sun god is smiling on us.

There is a lot of food given it's Christmas day. Lunch is amazing with 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 this evening. Rather bizarly there is an announcement that Santa will be arriving by zodiac, we are invited to have our pictures taken with him. The first gala dinner is always special, it begins with a speech from the captain, introduction of the key members of the crew end of course champagne and hors d'oeuvres. Because it is also Christmas we start with live entertainment. Dinner is a five course meal, set menu with excellent French wines as one would expect. We have the option to sing and dance the night away again. We resist the temptation and head for deck 6 and our usual night cap.Read more