So I normally have a choice of 2 options when I look out my porthole in the morning.

Choice 1. A large expanse of Ocean that goes on for miles and miles and the only other piece of scenery will be the sky above. Maybe the odd brave seagull too.

Choice 2. The dockside of a pier. Maybe wood with a few splinters. Maybe concrete with a few chewed out holes. Normally covered with a spattering of forklift trucks and cargo holds.

So I was quite pleased to discover a third option on this particular morning. We’d been sailing through the fiordlands just southwest of New Zealand. Milford Sounds. So instead of option 1 and 2… I get…

Ok… I know it’s a bit dark… but if I waited any longer the funky pink sky would have vanished. That would have left the whole place looking a bit spooky…

So it was a day of scenic cruising, which meant that although the sun wasn’t shining (we were pretty close to New Zealand after all) you could still pick out a few pretty awesome bits of scenery.

Now some of us had a much better plan. I mean a big ship is OK. But lets be honest… we’d rather be 2 inches from the surface of the water paddling like a duck. It’s all going to look that little bit more impressive (until some inconsiderate people turn up in their monstrosity of a cruise ship to spoil your morning paddle)…

… and I can’t help but feel slightly jealous of these lucky people. I’d rather be there.

However, paddling round the whole thing and then onwards to Australia in a kayak may have been little much. The ship did make the photo taking a bit easier…