Here's the Wikipedia list of natural places that have been called the Eighth Wonder of the World:
- Milford Sound in New Zealand; called so by Rudyard Kipling[1]
- Natural Bridge in Virginia, so dubbed by William Jennings Bryan[2]
- Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland[3]
- Burney Falls in California; called so by Theodore Roosevelt[4]
- Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, Canada[5]
- The great wildebeest migration in the Maasai Mara, Kenya and Serengeti, Tanzania[6]
- Uluru in Australia.[citation needed]
- Pink and White Terraces in New Zealand, prior to their destruction in the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera.
I have only been to three (Milford Sound, Natural Bridge, and Uluru). Alas, I shan't make the last one on the list.
I had signed us up for the whole kit and caboodle -- the cruise, the Discovery Centre, and kayaking. The company called it the fly/cruise/kayak/fly trip. I call expensive -- but worth it.
They served lunch on the cruise at 11am -- which was early, but it was easiest to eat right away (the buffet was out for 30 minutes, so there wasn't much choice! After we ate, we headed out on the front of ship to glide through the sound.
The views were stunning, the air crisp (the air is so clean and refreshing in New Zealand -- it tastes so good!) and very cold.
We went out to the Tasman Sea, where the wind drove most people inside. But not the three hardy Iron Tourists! No, we stayed out (although we did pop in briefly so Maddy could add my coat in an attempt to get warmer). The scenes of the glacial-blue water mixed with snow capped mountains in the background were gorge-ous!
The mountains go straight up from the water -- so it's not like you could land and hike up. In fact, the bottom of the fjord is about 1,000 feet below sealevel -- and it is a straight drop carved by the glaciers.
We were afjorded beautiful views all around us. On the way back (we went out the south side of the Sound and came back along the North side) we made a couple of stops. The first was at Seal island, the second was at Stirling Falls, where the boat gets close enough that those of us outside got sprayed by the cold water. The falls are tremendous.
The next stop was the Discovery Centre and Underwater Observatory. (I do so want to pronounce Centre as "Cen-truh"but have thus far refrained.) It is a floating building in Harrison Cove. (This may surprise you, but "Harrison Cove" like "Cecil Peak" and "Queenstown," is NOT a Maori word).
At the Discovery Centre we received a brief briefing (the best kind) on the history of the area, as well as a little bit on the nature aspect. Then, the group (of 15-20 or so) went down the sixty steps below the water level into the observatory, where we did some observing.
There were windows all around, and the water is so clear the natural sunlight allowed us great views of the black coral (which is actually white -- things are upside down in the Southern Hemisphere!), an 11 legged sea star (starfish), multiple fish of interesting varieties, and some other living creatures to numerous to mention.
Before building the observatory, garden boxes had been sunk ten years prior, and eventually coral and plants took root.
Ten of us then went up to kayak from the kayaking centre. They could fit six kayaks on a contraption, which they lowered into the water and those six pushed into the water, followed by the next group (us and a guide). We had two guides, (Kyle from Australia and Karl from Germany, both of whom loved their jobs -- and understandably so. (There is some dispute in the family with Karl is named Karl, but since he introduced himself to me that way, that's my story and I'm sticking with it!)
They had eight foot kayaks The paddles were feathered, which I'm not a big fan of. Thus, at the start, all of us veered in every direction, bumping into other kayaks and generally going any direction BUT straight. After a bit, I got it down. Carol and Maddy improved as well.
The water was so clear that Kyle spotted and pulled up an eleven legged starfish, which we passed around from boat to boat.
We paddled around for a bit, including to a spot on the Pembroke River as we looked up at
the massive Pembroke mountain and glacier. We drank some of the water from the glacier -- tasty stuff. It was also fun to paddle up to where the river was running fast into the cove -- and glide back down on the current.
Then, as Kyle and I were leading the group (look, we were well ahead of everyone else), a penguin popped up and was swimming along (see Penguin post below). Only he and I saw it, and then others popped up that the whole group saw swimming. It wasn't until we saw others -- Fjordland Crested New Zealand Penguins that I was able to take pictures. I rued not bringing the zoom lens along in the dry bag -- I figured it was best to save the lens in case of trouble. Poor choice. Still, the penguins were awesome.
They hopped along the rocks for a bit, then waddle strutted for the group (is "waddle strut" a thing? I believe so!), before disappearing into the water. Just before the water, their heads slumped as though they were worn out after a hard day at the office.
It was an amazingly beautiful, blue sky sunny day. As skiers call it, a bluebird sky day. Our intrepid guides kept saying it is more beautiful in the rain, because of all of the waterfalls that come cascading off the steep sides of the cove mountains. More than 200, we're told. I believe them, but I am skeptical about preferring to kayak in the rain. Neither Carol nor Maddy were disappointed in the weather either.
We paddled some more, then headed back to the kayak lift to change and hop on the incoming cruise boat for the remainder of the trip back to base. On the way, we went past scenic Lady Bowen Falls (also NOT a Maori name!). On the way out, we saw some beautiful long thin falls, but both Stirling and Bowen were visually stunning. Both reminded us of the Lauterbrunnen Valley in Switzerland.
Once we got back, we flew back (along with one other passenger) by swinging up over past Mitre Peak, then past the airport and back over a route to the south of the one we took. We saw the Milford Trek, and multiple mountains. We flew the length of the centre part of Lake Watapiku, over a controlled burn, and I could even spot our house well above the shoreline. We didn't take as many pictures on the way back, primarily because well, we already had a bunch of stunning snow capped mountains!
That night we grilled lamb steaks, capsicum (peppers), and french bread. We toasted our day with NZ Pinot Noir -- including a bottle of Mt. Difficulty, which figures in Monday's adventure.
The views were stunning, the air crisp (the air is so clean and refreshing in New Zealand -- it tastes so good!) and very cold.
We went out to the Tasman Sea, where the wind drove most people inside. But not the three hardy Iron Tourists! No, we stayed out (although we did pop in briefly so Maddy could add my coat in an attempt to get warmer). The scenes of the glacial-blue water mixed with snow capped mountains in the background were gorge-ous!
The mountains go straight up from the water -- so it's not like you could land and hike up. In fact, the bottom of the fjord is about 1,000 feet below sealevel -- and it is a straight drop carved by the glaciers.
We were afjorded beautiful views all around us. On the way back (we went out the south side of the Sound and came back along the North side) we made a couple of stops. The first was at Seal island, the second was at Stirling Falls, where the boat gets close enough that those of us outside got sprayed by the cold water. The falls are tremendous.
The next stop was the Discovery Centre and Underwater Observatory. (I do so want to pronounce Centre as "Cen-truh"but have thus far refrained.) It is a floating building in Harrison Cove. (This may surprise you, but "Harrison Cove" like "Cecil Peak" and "Queenstown," is NOT a Maori word).
At the Discovery Centre we received a brief briefing (the best kind) on the history of the area, as well as a little bit on the nature aspect. Then, the group (of 15-20 or so) went down the sixty steps below the water level into the observatory, where we did some observing.
There were windows all around, and the water is so clear the natural sunlight allowed us great views of the black coral (which is actually white -- things are upside down in the Southern Hemisphere!), an 11 legged sea star (starfish), multiple fish of interesting varieties, and some other living creatures to numerous to mention.
Before building the observatory, garden boxes had been sunk ten years prior, and eventually coral and plants took root.
Ten of us then went up to kayak from the kayaking centre. They could fit six kayaks on a contraption, which they lowered into the water and those six pushed into the water, followed by the next group (us and a guide). We had two guides, (Kyle from Australia and Karl from Germany, both of whom loved their jobs -- and understandably so. (There is some dispute in the family with Karl is named Karl, but since he introduced himself to me that way, that's my story and I'm sticking with it!)
They had eight foot kayaks The paddles were feathered, which I'm not a big fan of. Thus, at the start, all of us veered in every direction, bumping into other kayaks and generally going any direction BUT straight. After a bit, I got it down. Carol and Maddy improved as well.
The water was so clear that Kyle spotted and pulled up an eleven legged starfish, which we passed around from boat to boat.
We paddled around for a bit, including to a spot on the Pembroke River as we looked up at
the massive Pembroke mountain and glacier. We drank some of the water from the glacier -- tasty stuff. It was also fun to paddle up to where the river was running fast into the cove -- and glide back down on the current.
Then, as Kyle and I were leading the group (look, we were well ahead of everyone else), a penguin popped up and was swimming along (see Penguin post below). Only he and I saw it, and then others popped up that the whole group saw swimming. It wasn't until we saw others -- Fjordland Crested New Zealand Penguins that I was able to take pictures. I rued not bringing the zoom lens along in the dry bag -- I figured it was best to save the lens in case of trouble. Poor choice. Still, the penguins were awesome.
They hopped along the rocks for a bit, then waddle strutted for the group (is "waddle strut" a thing? I believe so!), before disappearing into the water. Just before the water, their heads slumped as though they were worn out after a hard day at the office.
It was an amazingly beautiful, blue sky sunny day. As skiers call it, a bluebird sky day. Our intrepid guides kept saying it is more beautiful in the rain, because of all of the waterfalls that come cascading off the steep sides of the cove mountains. More than 200, we're told. I believe them, but I am skeptical about preferring to kayak in the rain. Neither Carol nor Maddy were disappointed in the weather either.
We paddled some more, then headed back to the kayak lift to change and hop on the incoming cruise boat for the remainder of the trip back to base. On the way, we went past scenic Lady Bowen Falls (also NOT a Maori name!). On the way out, we saw some beautiful long thin falls, but both Stirling and Bowen were visually stunning. Both reminded us of the Lauterbrunnen Valley in Switzerland.
Once we got back, we flew back (along with one other passenger) by swinging up over past Mitre Peak, then past the airport and back over a route to the south of the one we took. We saw the Milford Trek, and multiple mountains. We flew the length of the centre part of Lake Watapiku, over a controlled burn, and I could even spot our house well above the shoreline. We didn't take as many pictures on the way back, primarily because well, we already had a bunch of stunning snow capped mountains!
That night we grilled lamb steaks, capsicum (peppers), and french bread. We toasted our day with NZ Pinot Noir -- including a bottle of Mt. Difficulty, which figures in Monday's adventure.
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