South Island Saga continued Doubtful Sound III

Our Doubtful Sound adventure continues... 

We spent a very quiet night.  Our beds were comfortable and our cabin quiet. We felt no wave motion whatsoever.  

We slept the sleep of exhausted travelers who have covered vast distances and enjoyed myriad adventures; and who have now arrived in a haven of quiet, warmth, food and peace.   

We knew that tomorrow would be another busy day, but there were nine or ten hours of nothing but contentment and rest ahead of us.  

When we awoke and went in search of breakfast, we passed this map that I found interesting. You can see our position within the Sound system. 

Going on deck, I discovered that a very different sort of day had dawned.  

Gone were the clear skies and bright sun.  

But, it had warmed up overnight. The crisp cold we felt while taking pictures beneath the clear skies last night had been replaced by a moist coolness. I thought it invigorating. The air seemed to have more oxygen in it than usual. I wondered briefly if it might just be a function of having had a very good sleep.     

We didn't spend much time at breakfast. (Relative to what we ate, that is)  I gathered up scrambled eggs, bacon, fried tomatoes and mushrooms, and toast and got busy.  Jeanne opted for the poached version, but mirrored my other choices on her own plate. Despite the scenery outside calling to us, we returned for a second round, this time of mixed fruits, a danish and more coffee.   

As we progressed, the overcast varied.  The clouds settled lower and crept upon us through the valleys. We'd get some light rain in fact, a little later.

I read a science fiction story once, don't remember the name, about some families that had emigrated to Venus. Many of the adults found it very hard to live there, because they had discovered the clouds that permanently enveloped the planet eliminated most color from the landscape. Their new world was dimly lit, and so dreary that some lost their minds over time.

But one of the children born on Venus, saw it differently. To her, there were a thousand different and beautiful shades of grey.  She became a painter in adulthood, trying to express on her canvases, the joy she found in the vistas she sought out.   

The writer of the story went on to talk about the newly born children's eyes; rods, cones and color receptors adapting to the environment and evolving as the years passed.  

I think of that story when I look at this picture. 

  

In my first Doubtful Sound post, I said that we had learned about slips. In this shot, we are approaching one of them.  Generally, when it happens, the scouring action of the debris from above strips an area to bare rock. Here, you can see that this slip has already started to repair itself.   

Waterfalls have appeared almost everywhere we look.  They vary in size. 

 

This moment was exciting in an understated way.  The Captain edged us up to this cliff that towers one kilometer above us.  The top is hidden in the clouds.  

After peering into the clouds, we dropped our eyes to the waterline.  

Doubtful Sound is part of Fjordland, which gets an average of seven meters of rain per year.  It shows.  

What an amazing world we are seeing.  The rivers in this magical land all flow vertically.  

Is there a term that perfectly describes a river that is a combination of rapids and waterfalls?  Probably not. There are cascades, flumes, chutes, and cataracts. And there is the generic term white water. This section of river seems to be an amalgamation of them all.  It always seems to be on the verge of leaping out of its channel. 

One thing I do know. That is hyper-oxygenated water that enters the sound.  

This cliff is full of slips.

Moving in for a very close look.

This is a new slip. The rock is scoured clean. 

That is our naturalist. She was an encyclopedia of knowledge.  

I don't know about you, but I like watching falling water.  

The last summer we were in Michigan, Jeanne and I visited all the waterfalls we could. There were some great ones.  

These are spectacular. 

We've seen so much, and it's still early in the morning.  Next week in my post we'll finish up our exploration of the Sound by finding dolphins.  Or rather, some dolphins finding us.  I hope that you'll look in.   -djf