Circumnavigating New Zealand — Fiordland 2019

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

You may recall that I recently finished up a three-month series of articles on circumnavigating Australia by cruise (beginning with: Circumnavigating Australia — Starting in Sydney). That series of photos were taken over the course of two voyages spaced one year apart. Over the coming months I’ll be presenting a similar series on circumnavigating New Zealand. And, as with the Australia series, this one will feature images taken a year apart on two separate voyages.

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

This week and next will feature New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park during our first visit in March 2019 aboard Majestic Princess.  After that we’ll return to view pictures taken a year later aboard Radiance of the Seas.

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

Why show the same area twice? Because of the weather, mostly. As you can see in the photos here that the weather in March 2019 was, for the most part, quite nice, having started out on the cloudy side and brightening as the day moved forward. March 2020 was no less spectacular, but the weather this time was uncooperative, with low ceilings and periods of light drizzle. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the contrasting views offered during the two trips here.

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

This first trip also had a pall cast over it. It was only one day before reaching Fiordland that our ship received word of the horrific Christchurch mosque shootings perpetrated by Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, an accelerationist and avowed white-supremacist with a documented history of ties to extremist right-wing groups throughout Europe and elsewhere. It was a truly sad time for both the Aussies and the Kiwis aboard.

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

As you can see, Fiordland has much to offer in the way of scenic beauty, from tall mountains . . .

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

. . . to lush vegetation:

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

The waterway here is quite protected, so the surface is smooth and inviting:

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

And the cloud-topped mountains are stunning:

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand