George Sound

Date: 8/01/15 Time: 17:00 Position: Alice Falls Anchorage, George Sound

On Friday morning the sun came out and we had glorious weather and were able to appreciate the clear mountain vistas from the boat. Since it was sunny and calm weather within the sound we decided we would go for a full day paddle down to the entrance of Bligh Sound. We saw many waterfalls cascading down through steep forested gullies gushing full of water due to the vast quantity of rain we had received in the days prior. Along the way we had a gull squawking at us as we rounded a rocky corner. At first we couldn't work out what its problem was until we reached the other side of the small cove to see the gull's young chick resting on the rocks covered in its downy feathers. Further along we spotted a pod of dolphins heading downstream, before long they were not far in front of us and some of the younger dolphins were leaping about two metres out of the air. It was very exciting to be so close to all this action. One of the older, bigger dolphins came over and swam around our kayaks checking us out. We were to see this pod of dolphins several times again traveling up and down the sound feeding and frolicking. Near the entrance to the sound we saw several fishing boats buzzing about and that night one of them, a 25 foot boat rafted alongside us. They were very friendly guys from Gore and generously gave us two crayfish and a great boating guide for Fiordland called 'Beneath the Reflections'. If you are interested in looking at this guide you can find it in an electronic format at www.fmg.org.nz

On Saturday afternoon the wind was supposed to abate to 15 knot SW so we thought we would head down to the entrance and have a look. But we didn't like what we encountered as it was still blowing 20 knots from the SW and the sea was very rough. So we turned around and were able to sail all the way back to our anchorage with the wind directly behind us even though we sailed around two 90 degree bends and included one reach of the sound that trends South West.

We woke up early this morning (Sunday) and were underway by 7am as the coastal forecast was for 10 knot variable winds. It seems to be that it is either a gale down here or it's a 10 knot variable wind. There doesn't seem to be much in between! We were lucky and had a pleasant 5nm sail down the coast to George Sound. On the way we saw heaps of birds and we have identified an albatross we haven't seen before. From looking at our bird identification books we think it is the grey headed albatross. On entering George Sound the surrounding high peaks were hidden behind low cloud as we sailed to the end of this 21.5km sound. At the end of the sound there are two arms and we are anchored in the south-eastern arm at Alice Falls. Once again we have our own private waterfall! After dropping the anchor we spent the next hour in the dinghy tying our two stern and two bow lines to trees around the shore to ensure a safe and comfortable night as a SW 35 knot change (yet another gale warning for this area) is due.

We hope to enjoy George Sound for two days before moving onto Caswell Sound on Wednesday when lighter winds are expected.

Kathy and Wayne

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