In about a week. we'll be cruising on Doubtful Sound

So our trip to New Zealand edges ever closer. Have been working long hours at the office, trying to wrap up or hand off projects so I can take a break from job responsibilities and enjoy this adventure.

On Sunday, we called our friend Mark from Chicago, with whom we’ll be making this trip. We asked him what he’s most looking forward to, and without missing a beat, he said it was an overnight stay on board a cruiser in Doubtful Sound.

Doubtful Sound is a large fjord (a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity – yup, I had to look it up) located in Fiordland National Park in the far south west of New Zealand. It's said to be the country’s most famous tourist destination (#1 is Milford Sound, a smaller but more accessible fjord in the park) and is home to bottleneck dolphins, seals, penguins, whales (!!), and a wide variety of sea creatures.

I’ve learned that one thing that makes Doubtful Sound unique is that it contains two layers of water: fresh water that cascades down from the surrounding mountains is on top; underneath is a layer of heavy, cold water from the sea, which serves as the perfect host to deep-sea species.

On Thursday, February 16, the Real Journeys tour company will pick us up from our hotel and escort us on a 45-minute boat ride across Lake Manapoui. Then we take a bus ride through a rainforest over Wilmot Pass to Deep Cove, where we board The Fiordland Navigator for a tour of Doubtful Sound. It’s an overnight stay on the cruiser, which sleeps 70, and we’ll have the opportunity to kayak, enjoy other water-based excursions, or just stay safely on board and watch for wild beasts! And of course, enjoy meal and cocktails with the other passengers.

Here's a sneak peak of what we might expect when we visit Doubtful Sound.