Got up to another glorious day. Some say the best time to view the Sound is on a rainy day where waterfalls are just shooting everywhere. We were glad to drive the road, which is touted to be the 2nd most dangerous in New Zealand, in dry, sunny conditions. One section was a huge tunnel that was very long, narrow, and very dark. Riding a boat, having lunch onboard and viewing the natural wonders of this part of the world, is never a bad thing. The mountains rose about 2000 feet directly out of the water! Again, the pictures can’t convey the majesty that surrounded us.
Part of the tour included visiting a huge floating chamber that was assembled in the sound. It was quite an engineering feat. We descended about 100 feet below the surface and looked out of walls of Plexiglas at the marine life below. Interesting, but the marine life wasn’t that dramatic.
After the tour we tackled the twisting return drive, this time Norman thought he was on a
Grand Prix circuit, attempting, I am sure, to break all records in our huge unwieldy van.
Believe it or not, a tour bus passed us, and we were going at the break neck speed of about 60 mph on these winding roads! Doesn’t seem like much, but trust me, not for the feint of heart.
