TRAVELING AROUND THE WORLD: Our Tales of Delights and Disasters by Shelley Row Page A

ice calved that day and all of it was floating in the lake. It was the perfect time to see Mother Nature up close. Our guide took us through the small pieces of floating ice – like giant slush. We pried off an ice crystal to taste the perfectly pure, 300-year-old water. She took us as close to the new, large icebergs as was safe. They were still fragile and unpredictable. These fresh bergs were turquoise-blue from the densely compacted water. It was remarkable.
     
    And speaking of remarkable, we left that afternoon for a five-hour bus ride into Queenstown. This charming small city is the epicenter for outdoor activities in New Zealand. It’s situated on a large, deep-blue lake and ringed by the Remarkables. The Remarkables are a range of mountains that form a ragged, green wall protecting the lake and Queenstown. I look forward to hiking in those mountains on my next visit. This time, we were content to watch as the light and clouds morphed them from green to blue to purple. And we also enjoyed a boat ride on a hundred-year-old steam ship, TSS Earnslaw. We watched the crew shovel coal below decks as we motored along the blue water with mountains on all sides.
     
    One of the excursions Mike and I were particularly excited about was an overnight boat trip to Doubtful Sound in Fjordland National Park. We held our breath for good weather as conditions are notoriously changeable in the fjords. Weather karma struck and we were greeted with blue skies and puffy clouds when we arrived at the village of Te Anau. Milford Sound is the best known of the tourist destinations in the Park, consequently it is packed with bus-loads of tourists and airplanes buzzing overhead for scenic flights. We opted for the less trafficked Doubtful Sound. There’s a reason it has fewer tourists. Arriving at Doubtful Sound entailed a fifty-five-minute ferry ride and a forty-minute drive over a pass on a steep, narrow gravel road. That brought us to the boat dock. We were in awe as mountains sprang up from the lake and lush vegetation blanketed the slopes.
     
    Our boat was custom-made for this tour and held sleeping berths for six couples plus the crew (captain and first mate). We boarded at noon and set off through the Sound. Doubtful Sound is actually a fjord, we learned, as fjords are carved by glaciers. The day was ideal and our first treat was a pod of dolphins playing alongside the boat. They swam, jumped and spurted water so close we could hear their breath – an inhale and sharp exhale that shot water into the air. They rolled around under the bow of the boat eyeing us as cameras snapped frantically.
     
    Vistas were ever changing as we motored though narrow passages with valleys cutting dramatically into the water. After lunch of fresh crayfish (they looked like large lobsters) caught from the Sound, we sat back and enjoyed the ride. We went through the Sound to where it opens into the Tasman Sea. When we arrived, several giant albatross (or Mallymawk, perhaps) swooped and soared behind the boat. They had round, compact bodies attached to long, slender wings and bright-orange striped beaks. They nonchalantly shifted their bodies into graceful turns. We had a close-up view from the back of the boat.
     
    As we turned back into the Sound, I overheard Captain Chris talking on the radio to another boat captain. Chris remarked on what a beautiful day it was to which the other captain exclaimed, “It’s a cracka of a day.” I couldn’t have said it better! Eventually, Captain Chris got out the fishing gear and Mike was in heaven. He caught fish after fish, including some that we had for dinner that evening. A young man from Germany was traveling with us who had never fished before, so Mike became a teacher. His student caught the biggest fish of the trip!
     
    While Mike fished, I kayaked. So peaceful. The only sounds were the splash of the paddles and the drip of water running down my arms. Every now and again, a bird chirped from the dense