Fjordland N.Z. February 14, 2011

Today we cruised slowly through three magnificent Fjords.  The weather was perfect – lucky for us, because we were told that it usually rains here about 180 days a year and the rainfall is measured in meters.  I was up before 7  to go to the Crows Nest on the 9th floor to see us enter the first one.   There were not too many people up and about at that hour, so I got a front row chair.  What a view ! ! ! !

All day we cruised from one fjord to another.  The water is surrounded by sheer rock which rises about 4ooo feet, a lot of it covered with lush forests clinging to the cliffs.  The most spectacular one called  Milford Sound was the last one we entered.  We left there around 5 p.m.  Now we are heading for Tasmania.  I’ve been told that sometimes the sea is very rough going there.  We’ll see how good a sailor I have become, if it is.

Tonight we had our seventh formal night. I had my hair done at the Beauty Parlour and then got dressed in my finery.  Since it was Valentine’s Day, I wore my beautiful red chiffon dress and I received many compliments.  We had the entertainment show at 6:30 this evening for the late diners (and at 8 for the early diners), because at 10:00 p.m. there was a gala ball in that room – the Queen’s Lounge.    I went to the early one.  The performers were 2 couples from Australia.  The men are professional singers, (one of them an opera singer).  One of the wives is a fantastic piano player and the other is a cellist with the opera house orchestra.  They put on a great show.

Whenever we have a formal evening, a member of the crew usually joins us at the table for dinner and he or she signs for the wine we have for dinner, so we don’t have to pay for it.  Tonight, we had the dentist sitting with us and he was very charming.  After dinner, around 9:30, I went up to the Crow’s Nest where there were 2 of the dance hosts and had a couple of dances.  Then it was time to go to the ball in the Queen’s Lounge.  The dance floor there is not too large and there were a lot of couples attending, so it was cosy on the dance floor.  The dance hosts really earned their keep tonight – there were a lot of women whose husbands don’t dance.  As far as the crew is concerned, it is always ladies’ choice so I got to dance with the captain.  He is a tall, good looking, fairly young man and he is in great demand at these functions.  I was fortunate and got asked to dance fairly often – must have been that pretty red dress.  Anyhow, a good time was had by all.