Today, I crossed the 45th parallel putting me halfway between the equator and the South Pole.  I spent today in the Fiordland National Park, the mountainous, rugged and largely uninhabitable southwest part of New Zealand.  This is the side of NZ  that gets the most rainfall.   We started out in the rain forest at the base of the mountains.  As we walked through the forest, I am aware of sights and sounds everywhere.  I hear the rushing waters from the waterfalls feeding the streams and small rivers.   It was grey and overcast with a light rain falling.  I could hear the raindrops hitting the trees and  I watched the water drip off the leaves.  Everything is lush, green and thick.  I can smell the clean scent of the forest as I inhale deeply.  It was  amazing walking through this rich, aromatic forest.

We traveled on to Milford Sound, one of the fiords in this area.  We boarded a boat and headed out through the fiord to the Tasman Sea.  The mountains rise sharply out of the water, through the fog and clouds.  Sometimes we can see the tops of the mountains, sometimes the top is buried  in the clouds.  The area is full of raging waterfalls, cascading down the mountains into the sea.  There were heavy rains last night so the waterfalls are full and flowing.  I've never seen so many waterfalls, ever.  Our guide tells us that just as the mountains rise up, so do they go down, allowing our boat to come so close to the sides of the mountains that you can almost reach out and touch them.  We cruise under a waterfall and glasses placed out on the bow of the ship fill with fresh rainwater from the waterfalls.  It is delicious, the best water I have ever tasted.  Straight from heaven, filtered through moss as it  cascades down the side of the mountain.

We traveled out to the Tasman Sea, turn around and head back into harbor.  I am in awe of this pristine scenery, untouched by humans, kept just as God and nature designed it.  This area of NZ is  accessible only by boat, plane or hiking.  There are no roads, no stores, no conveniences of modern living here, only me and the most beautiful area I've ever seen.  

I've been from one end of New  Zealand to the other now, from the beaches to the mountains and I have loved every inch of New Zealand.  Her beauty is stunning and breath-taking and her people are kind and gentle.   What a remarkable country she is!