Day #94 - Whispers of Wind, Water & Dancing Dolphins

We awoke to the sound of the generators being switched back on and the boat coming back to life. We too slowly got ourselves going and had a quick shower and freshen up before a lovely cooked breakfast.

The overnight rain meant that the weather this morning was more mist than sun but as we got underway, it started to brighten up and the clouds began to lift to reveal the majestic valley sides of the fiord.

The fiord was looking stately and regal in its own way, but as the morning drew on, the day became brighter and the sky bluer with the sun starting to break through the morning cloud. 

We were invited midmorning to take a moment of reflection. The boat's engines and generators were all shut down so that we could enjoy the calm of the fiord. We sat in silent on the open deck and let the sounds of our landscape envelope us. We could here the water lapping against the sides of the boat, the birds in the trees that clung onto the steep sided cliffs, the breeze working its way through the branches of the trees and stroking the leaves. It was a moment to really appreciate where we were and humbling to realise our place in the world. 

After a bit more cruising, we were joined by some very special friends. 

Before we knew it our special visitors bade us farewell and we made our way back to Deep Hole Cruise Terminal where we boarded our vessel, The Milford Wanderer. 

After thanking the crew for a memorable and special 24 hours, we boarded the coach to take us back over Wilmot Pass to the West Arm of Manapouri where we were picked up by our transfer boat to take us back to where our adventure began, the town of Manapouri. 

Tired but fully satisfied and filled with awesome memories, we hopped back into the car and headed back towards Queenstown and our now familiar home. 

Since it was Christmas Eve, we stopped off at the local supermarket to pick up a few provisions for us to enjoy tomorrow. It is still strange to be in a supermarket at Christmas time and there to be very little in the shop to indicate that it is indeed the festive season. Apart from a few end of aisle displays, a few things at the checkout, the only clues were the  minimal decorations and occasional festive song on the store PA system.

Back "home" we settled in for a quite Christmas Eve and of course, we had to watch the best Christmas movie ever (no debate by the way - this is fact!).