Scenes from Milford Sound and Fiordlands National Park

When I decided to intersperse posts about the rest of our Southeast Asian travels with our current escapades in New Zealand, I didn’t plan to have back to back posts about Halong Bay and Milford Sound. But considering that Milford Sound reminds me of Halong Bay in many ways (minus the shoddy safety and karaoke), it is fitting.

Milford Sound is really a fiord carved out many years ago by glaciers. Fiordland National Park is widely considered the most beautiful area in New Zealand. As with Halong Bay, we experienced Milford Sound on a day that was cold and rainy and thick with fog. Considering it rains 200 days out of the year, with an annual rainfall of just shy of 300 inches, the weather we experienced was not a shock, but we were a little disappointed because we suspected the fog masked some of the area’s grandeur and scale. We made the most of it though, and ponied up for a cruise through the Sound to the Tasman Sea and back. On the 2 1/2 hour drive through Fiordlands National Park back to Te Anau from the Sound, we dragged ourselves out of the campervan into the rain at every viewpoint and short hike we could bear. It’s a beautiful area, even when it is ensconced in opaque whiteness.

We woke up early to get a head start before the crowds and got to see this sunrise over our campground. We thought the weather looked promising but the rain started falling harder the deeper we got into the Fiordlands.

The drive through the Fiordlands National Park is just as beautiful as Milford Sound itself.

Waiting for the light to change at the Homer Tunnel, we entertained ourselves by taking pictures of the keas (tropical parrots). You can see how thick the fog is; that's how the background really looked.

During our cruise, I had to retreat under the awning because the rain kept falling on my lens. At some point, we gave up and went inside to the warmth of the cabin.

One plus of being there on a rainy day is the streams of waterfalls. There were hundreds the day we visited.

Like this fantastic one.

One of the shots from a stop on the way back out of Fiordlands National Park.

Also carved by a glacier.

Towards the end of the afternoon, as we reached the edge of the park, the sun finally came out. This is the Mirror Lakes, named for obvious reasons.

Moody Mystical Halong Bay

Our last stop in Vietnam was at the moody, mystical Halong Bay. Halong Bay gets a bad rap because it is one of the top tourist spots in Vietnam and it is difficult to see it without going along with a pre-arranged tour.  Some tour operators are honest, but many others cut corners.  With tours ranging from luxury to bottom of the barrel, it is hard to trust that you will get your money’s worth.

Because of all of the horror stories, I was apprehensive about going to see Halong Bay.  Then, just a few days before we planned to visit Halong Bay, something far worse than shoddy service or overcrowding happened.  One of the junk boats used for tours of the bay sunk in the early morning hours as people were in their cabins sleeping, killing 12 tourists and crew, including two college-aged American girls. By all accounts, the tour was one of the cheap budget tours, but it still doesn’t make you feel confident about your safety.

We thought about not going, but considering Vietnamese officials were inspecting every boat rigorously in the aftermath of the sinking, we decided to book a one night, two day mid-priced tour through our hotel with Amigo Cruises. The boat was relatively new, with all important safety features like life jackets. I’m not going to lie; I slept a lot easier because our room was on the upper deck. While our tour wasn’t without issues (average food, gas smell in an otherwise nice cabin room, rushed kayaking in the Bay), the tour allowed us to experience beautiful Halong Bay safely.

Despite all of the tourists, there’s a stillness and quietness in Halong Bay. I’m sure this feeling was exacerbated by the somberness of what had transpired only days before, as well as the thick fog that hung heavy in the air, especially on our first day. With limestone karsts jutting up from the waters all around you, it is a beautiful place worth visiting, as long as you can do it safely. I hope that this latest accident causes safety standards to increase; unfortunately, I don’t have high hopes as this is the first fatal boating accident in Halong Bay.

Easter Randomness

– Easter is the one holiday on this trip that we spent away from home twice. Last Easter, we spent the day touring Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

– Even though our guidebook tells me New Zealanders are not that religious, they have some seriously strict laws about Easter. The government prohibits most businesses from trading on Good Friday and Easter, dashing many of our plans. Also, and most importantly, you can only buy alcohol in restaurants and only if you have the intention of eating. Thus, the true story of how the NZ government forced us to eat a scrumptious $28 NZD pizza on Good Friday.

– Kids from New Zealand get two! weeks! off from school for Easter.

– It is weird to eat chocolate eggs wrapped in pastel colored foils while the leaves outside are the deep colors of autumn.

That is all. May your Easter be filled with lots of chocolatey goodness.