A muse on the Muse.

[drron29]

And an old land slide.

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The weather kept improving.

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An older landslip.

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Although there was occasional sunshine it was still cold.

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The last of Doubtful sound.In truth we hardly spent any time at all in Doubtful sound as it is a complex of several sounds with Doubtful at the interior.It meant we went in one sound and exited another.

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We came in through Thompson Sound,a short cross via Bradshaw sound and out Doubtful Sound.

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The weather turned again as we exited the sounds.

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[drron29]

Dinner that night was in Atlantide.I started with the beef tartare and caviar whilst rojaan had the lobster salad.

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They were both very good.We both had the excellent NZ lamb cutlets.

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For desserts rojaan had the pavlova whilst I had their version of lemon meringue pie.

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Both excellent.The guest at the next table said I should take a picture of his cheesecake to round out the major desserts.

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[drron29]

 

The next morning we awoke to a much nicer day as we approached Stewart Island.

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We were meant to visit Stewart Island on the way back from Antarctica in 2011 but the seas were too rough for a landing.A brief sense of deja vu when it was too rough in the primary tender site in Halfmoon Bay and Oban.Fortunately the Captain had been here before when the primary landing site was across the isthmus at Golden Bay.Conditions there were good so off we set.The jetty where the tenders unloaded.

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A landslip with the earth with small trees being left with no support.

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Now rojaan had done her homework here and 3 months ago had arranged a rental car for 4 hours.None left on the day.It really was the way to go.Cheaper than the ship's tours and you saw the developed part of the island.This is a very small part of the Island with over 90% being National Park.Only 44Km of sealed road.We headed first to Horseshoe and Lees Bays.
We both like hydrangeas.Here they are magnificent.

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[drron29]

Lovebirds.

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The views are stunning.

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[Stumblefoot]

33 minutes ago, drron29 said:

Good to see Rojann having fun!

[rojaan19]

We are off the Muse now  and staying in Auckland for a few days  so this trip report should gain speed !

 

One comment I would make about the Muse is the internet speed is  S L O W  !  We were in a Silver Suite and were meant to have  " Premium Internet "  most days it was slow,  basically  I only checked my emails  on my laptop.  I turned off my phone as I could not post from it.    Ron would take 30 to 60 minutes to upload his photos to  Flickr  - here in our hotel in Auckland it  takes  2  minutes to upload the same amount of photos.

 

[drron29]

Horseshoe bay

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Lots of birds on the beach and mostly not too wary of humans.

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But mother duck quickly got her ducklings out of sight.

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Lees bay.On one side is a wildlife refuge with a high fence to keep out introduced animals.

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Many homes for insects.

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But the main reason this road is here and has a bus service is that it is a major entrance to the National Park.

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Driving back.This place in Horseshoe Bay certainly have poultry covered.

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chickens,ducks,geese and turkeys.ready for any occasion.
And more birds.

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[drron29]

Then we drove out along a one lane dirt track to Bragg bay.Sign said it lead to a historic cemetery.Never did find it.Presumably a walk but no signage further along the road.No problems as it was truly a beautiful spot.

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From here you could look across Halfmoon bay to the town-Oban.

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[drron29]

New Zealand flax in the foreground.

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[drron29]

More flowers on the drive back.

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We crossed a little inlet with a variety of waterbirds and nice scenery.

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Edited February 18, 2019 by drron29