Our Travel Stories

Author: Shraddha

Wow! What a place and what an abundance of penguins!!

The day did not start on the most promising note as our landing at Isthmus Bay was cancelled as the only possible landing site got blocked by two giant seals. So, the expedition team made a call to move to the second landing site of Sandy Bay. We spent that time watching the island from the ship and the hundreds of King Penguins in the water.

Sandy Bay worked out for us and went ashore to see the Royal Penguin and King Penguin colonies. There were so many penguins so close to us that we had wonderful time just watching their antics.

Some of the royal penguins were molting and looked comical

The King Penguins were beautiful and very curious about us. They would come right up to us and watch us back. Wonder what they thought of us.

We also saw Skuas and Giant Petrels. These birds basically clean the surroundings and go after the dead animals on the beach.

And of course fur seals.

After Sandy bay, the expedition team gave a choice of zodiac scenic cruise or ship based scenic cruise of Lusitania Bay. We wimped out as the weather was iffy with cold and rain. We watched other brave souls take on the elements in the comfort of the ship.

But we had one final surprise as we stood watching the scenery pass by. We had our very first Orca sighting!! What a day 😁.

It’s Valentine’s ❤️ Day today and we will finish it with a nice dinner at the Hut restaurant on the ship.

After such a busy start to our cruise we finally had our first sea day. It was time to relax a bit and catch up on our sleep.

We attended a few lectures, and the one I liked the most was about how they made the Macquarie island pest free (which we are hoping to visit tomorrow, weather permitting).

The island was devastated with rabbits that ate all the island’s vegetation to the very roots and mice that ate bird eggs and chicks. We saw a video of mice literally burrowing under a nesting albatross to get to the eggs/chicks.

It was a multi-year project with helicopter dropped baits, actual hunters with dogs and rifles to make sure they got all the pests. The dedication of these teams as they worked in such a difficult place was truly touching.

Once the island was pest free in 2014, tussock grass and megaherbs were back and once again the island became a haven for the sea birds.

It is a very difficult island to visit as there are usually large swells and high winds. Keeping our fingers crossed that we will be able to visit this special place tomorrow.

Author: Mayuresh

We visited Campbell Island today in sub-Antartic region of New Zealand. As we left Auckland island, our expedition leader announced that weather on the Campbell Island was not optimal for walk because of the 35-40 mile wind and gust of 49 miles. Still we decided to hike on boardwalk for 4 miles in a short time of 3 hours. Why?Because we wanted to watch nesting Albatrosses along the boardwalk.

We did get to see many of these albatrosses. We saw 2-4 of them that were about 5-8 ft away. We saw them clearly, we saw them nesting and protecting their eggs/chicks, and we saw that they didn’t want to be disturbed as well.

On the way back, we were joined by Pipit bird. This guy walked (2-3 ft ahead on the boardwalk) as our lead for almost a mile.

We really enjoyed the walk through the native tussock grass and beautiful wild flowers. This was the first island that New Zealand made “pest free” (removing all the reindeer, rats, mice and cats) and now the marine life is flourishing on this island.

We returned back to the ship by 1:15pm for late lunch.

After lunch, we visited the live animal samples collected by the science team. We saw cool tiny shell fish and shrimp.

And as the low pressure system and storm heading our way, we left Campbell Island and started heading to Macquarie Island. The swells are big today about 12 ft high (rogue waves were almost 15 ft high) and we have been told to be careful as we walk on the ship.

Author: Shraddha

Today we woke up to calm seas and great balmy weather. Perfect weather for a hike or a long walk. We had signed up for a long walk around the Enderby islands. During the briefing the expedition team mentioned that a 11-14 Km walk will take 5 hours, we were shocked. Especially since they mentioned that the terrain is undulating and not really steep.

I don’t believe we were prepared for the walk we did. For majority of the walk there was no trail.

We literally bushwhacked our way through thick and tall tussock grass, crossed multiple bogs, slipped/got stuck in a few of them, tried to walk quietly past huge sea lions and tried to appear non-threatening to the Hiho penguins (yellow eyed penguins).

Then there were the stars of Snares, the Hiho or the yellow-eyed penguins. These penguins are endangered as they are very shy and will turn back from feeding if they are startled.

The walk took 6 hours 45 minutes and we walked a total of 6.4 miles with elevation gain of 519 feet. Some of the miles took longer than an hour each. With our mudboots, the walk was much longer and by end of the walk, I did feel like asking our hiking lead – ‘are we there?’. Mayuresh’s thighs were cramping.

But we got up and close with sea lions, albatrosses, penguins and a variety of small birds.

We got to observe them in their environment and watch their behavior.

And we also saw unspoiled beauty of an island without any pests and given to the native plants and animals.

And then there was the beauty of the island itself

Author: Mayuresh

After a good night sleep (relatively), we got a briefing of zodiac excursion protocol, and do & don’t for these activities. Something that we knew we have to follow but still seems little daunting task!

The expedition leader also emphasized that the itinerary we got is very much a tentative itinerary as this is an expedition. And then he announced a surprise visit to the Snares Island. So that was a happy surprise. We are sure not all surprises will be happy, but we will make the most of what we get.

I started to feel little nauseous late morning and took medicine for seasickness. That seemed to help me a bit for sure. Later in the day realized it was the 5 espresso shots that caused my nausea/seasickness.

As the ship headed south near Snares island, our expedition leader announced that there would be a zodiac excursion. As ship came to designated south side of the Snares island, we got ready with our rain pants and zodiac wear/gear, but then our expedition leader cancelled the zodiac excursion because of big swells.

So after consulting with the captain, the boat was moved to the east side and though the swell was high, the call was made for the zodiac excursion. It took some learning for us to get in and out of zodiac with swell as high as 1.9m.

On our excursion trip, we saw fur seals and Snares crested penguins only found on this island. We also saw many birds both in the water and on land.

The zodiac was able to also enter a tunnel and from there into a tranquil bay. This was one of the highlights of this zodiac cruise.

Author: Shraddha

We drove to Dunedin from Invercargill. Mayuresh was not up for any stops on the way. Antartica and the ship was calling and everything else felt like a distraction. This completed our road trip. We did not get any speeding or traffic violation ticket, some achievement!

In Dunedin (pronounced as duh.nee.dn) we walked around the city center and saw some sights.

We checked in for our cruise and also for a night in Scenic Hotel. We learned that we had only 85 cruisers total in our cruise and many cabins were still empty. We asked about upgrades and got a good deal on the captain’s suite. So we will be cruising in style 😁.

In the morning we went shopping. New Zealand has a special type of Jade (greenstone) and we got some pendants and earrings and of course some obligatory New Zealand T-shirts.

Our cruise had arranged a little tour for us and so off we went on a tour bus. The first stop was at the Unity park and there we got the first view of our ship.

It was a beautiful day in Dunedin and our bus driver told us that such days are Dunner stunners.

We also visited the botanic garden and here are some pictures from the garden.

We still found time for Super Bowl watching at The Cairns, Irish Tavern with local beer and fries. So happy to watch Seahawks win the game!!

And now it was finally time to get on the ship and check out our cabin.

Sorry, these are not the best photos as the angles were awkward.

A few photos as we set sail

Though the Dunedin harbor itself had a very industrial look, it was very pretty as we cruised through the peninsula.

We also saw many royal albatrosses. Didn’t have the zoom lens handy, so this is the best we got.

As we are traveling in South island of New Zealand, we are heading further south as our journey takes us to Antartica. We crossed the 45 degree south latitude yesterday, that means we are at the bottom 1/4 of the earth and are now part of less than .01% of earth population for a brief period of 50 odd days.

We stayed in Te Anau, which falls in region of Fiordland National Park. We took it easy today after the early mornings for the last few days. Today was also rainy and overall we were able to do a lot less number of activities.

We visited Lake Manapouri. This is considered by many as New Zealand’s loveliest lake with beautiful mountain range as a backdrop and many small islands. Unfortunately, the views were limiting today with rain and cloud cover.

We met some locals while visiting the lake and they suggested that we visit Caitlin forest park especially Curio Bay and Petrified Forest. So we decided to do just that (very spontaneous of us 😊).

On the way we crossed the Red tussock conservation area. This has the red grass and it looked lovely with mountainous background.

From there it was, or felt like a long drive to Curio Bay. There was not much in between but many sheep farms. Though they looked pretty, the drive felt monotonous after the variety we experienced over the last week. We are already spoiled 😁.

The petrified forest is at the seashore and can only be seen during low tide. We planned our visit accordingly and the forest floor was exposed and we were able to walk through petrified stumps and some fallen petrified tree trunks. It did need some imagination to notice the petrified wood.

From there we decided to visit the southernmost tip of New Zealand called slope point. By the time we got there it was raining a bit and was very windy with gusts up to 36-40 mph.

The rain stung, and the wind bit, but we still made the mile long walk to the slope point. It was insane.

But that was not sufficient for Mayuresh and he decided walk to another point would do the trick and off he went to the Waipapa point to see a lighthouse.

After this, we were definitely done and are now sitting in our hotel’s restaurant waiting for our meal.

Most folks do Milford sound visit as a day trip from Queenstown though it is four and half drive down to the sound and then take an hour or two of cruise around the sound. We decided to take an overnight cruise on Jewel ship with Fiordland Discovery.

The drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound is a scenic drive, but we didn’t stop for pictures. Too much of a good thing?

We do plan to spend tomorrow and some of the day after in this area, so we still have opportunities for pictures around here.

We didn’t fill up our gas tank when we left and it got a little worrisome as the fuel gusher kept dropping by 3 kms for each km we drove. Thankfully, we eventually hit downslope and made it safely here with gas to spare. Mayuresh will say that he was never worried, but has anyone ever seen him worried?

Finally we reached our parking area about an hour before our scheduled reporting time. So first thing first, we got gas (petrol in NZ). Finally some stress relief 😊

Our checkin and embarking was quick and easy. And we left marina at 3pm.

After heading out to Tasman sea through, we saw all the waterfalls in the sound.

And also saw wildlife – sea lion and few birds.

Many of the waterfall have water based on the rains in recent days. However there are 2 waterfalls that have water all year long.

After entering in Tasmania Sea briefly, we started return journey in the sound and visited Sterling Fall. We visited the fall and got close enough to get drenched in the mist. That means we look 10 years younger, per captain.

Though the waterfalls and big views get the most attention, the lichen, moss and shrubs on the fjord walls was also pretty. There were also many coves and caves.

Finally the ship was anchored in relatively calmer side of the sound. Immediately we got into kayaks. Shraddha and I both were brave enough to get in the kayak. And guess what, before I even paddled my first stroke, I tipped the kayak and was in the water. And I was the only happened to be in the water. I just gathered my courage and got back in kayak and continued the kayaking. This is the first time Shraddha and I kayaked in the sea/sound. This was a new experience. After 20-30 minutes of kayaking, we jumped back in the water for swimming for few minutes. Water temperature was 16 degrees Celsius and was very refreshingly cool.

After shower, we had a wonderful 3 course dinner.

That was it for the day. We had early wake up in the morning for final scenic cruise and breakfast.

Next day- It rained all night long so we slept well. Woke up early, had a quick breakfast while captain went back out in the sound for another hour. All that rain meant many more waterfalls and those we had seen before were very energetic.

We saw a sea lion feasting on blue cod fish.

We also saw a Fiordland crested penguin playing hide and seek with us.

Finally we returned to marina at 8.45am after saying thanks to our wonderful crew.

As we headed to Te Anau, we stopped at a few picture spots.

Checked in early in our room and went out in search of LOTR spots.

The river also had a suspension bridge

Yesterday and today we spent in Queenstown, the adventure capital of New Zealand. We started the day with a whitewater rafting trip in the Kawarau river. These rapids are rated at 3, and so were perfect for us beginners. It was a gorgeous day in a beautiful setting with just a touch of adrenaline.

The pictures from our rafting trip were taken by the outfitters, so not all that great, but we are glad we have them.

That was it as far as adventure goes for us 😊.

In the afternoon we took a boat cruise on the Wakatipu lake to visit Walter Peak farm and a barbecue dinner.

Other than the views on the lake back and forth, we got to see a demonstration of sheep shearing. It was in a way funny as the sheep did not make a sound during the entire shearing. The guide said that they never do once they are put on their back. It is as if they give up as any effort as useless.

Mia also demonstrated her sheep herding skills.

Some views of the farm and the lake ….

The boat that took us to the farm is TSS Earnslaw. It is a steamboat with three boilers. The steamboat was built in 1908.

This ended our first day at Queenstown.

Today we headed toward Glenorchy chasing new views and some LOTR locations.

Location of Isengard

And Lothlorien

That’s it for Queenstown. Wish we had another day here. Tomorrow we head towards Milford Sound.

You can’t always have sunny and clear days. Today was forecasted to be rainy and we did get enough rain that the day felt a little mystical.

We decided to visit Wanaka before heading towards Queenstown. On the way we stopped at Lindis pass. The hills here were all golden with grass interspersed with wildflowers to give them further character.

New Zealand countryside has many farms and sheep. This time we came across the famous merino sheep

By the time we reached Wanaka, it was raining and our plan to visit the lake on the island in the lake (confusing enough?) didn’t work out as the water taxis stopped running to the island on the lake.

Instead we visited the Wanaka tree or the lonely willow. This tree is the only tree in the lake

Check out the wingspan of the bird on the tree.

We reached Queenstown much earlier than expected and gave visit to Queenstown garden.

Check out the support they gave this tree branch

The walk through the garden took us to the Wakatipu Lake.