Well, the overnight tour option wasn’t the best option after all, because it would have meant missing the chance to wake up entering Dusky Sound in calm seas and bright sunshine. Last time Celebrity Edge was here the visits into the 3 Sounds were cancelled or cut short because of foul weather but today was perfect.

New Zealand has 12 Sounds and we are to visit 3, although in Dusky and Doubtful Sounds we exited back to the ocean via different arms so it’s like seeing 5 Sounds. Today they are particularly attractive because of the weather. Hundreds of metres deep and surrounded by steep cliffs, the Sounds are very beautiful. We spent a couple of hours in each narrow Sound and cruised slowly northward only 1-2 km from the spectacular rugged shore, in over 1 km deep water.

Mid-afternoon we arrived at Milford Sound, the best known of all the Sounds. There is a small township at the inland end of the Sound which is accessible by road so we saw a few small tourist launches and fishing vessels. Apart from the main road and a few walking tracks it is still mainly untouched by humans and is very spectacular.

It was a great day, not surprisingly a highlight of the cruise.