January 8th, 2016

We awoke early for our kayaking trip that was scheduled today, and cooked breakfast, which was bacon and eggs, cooked on a cast iron pan. It all turned out well, and we departed for Milford Sound,
which we had been advised by PC could take either 50 minutes for a local, or up to 1.5 hours. As it would turn out, I made it in 45 minutes. The tunnel down to the sound was completed in 1953,
and had quite a grade and was single lane, controlled by a light. It had been raining overnight, so the fjords were magnificent, with many waterfalls tumbling down their sides.

We descended down the Sound, which consisted of little more than a single lodge, a boat-ramp, an air strip, and a cruise terminal. We were quite early, so we ended up waiting in the car while
ravenous sandfly hordes hovered about. Our group ended up being 6 people plus our guide, the other 3 members of our party being three Singaporean ladies who worked together at an eCommerce company
there and went on vacation together. At least two of them appeared to be pretty proficient with a kayak, and Nick ended up being partnered with one while I went with my wife. 

After a motorboat ride out some ways (the end of which featured dolphins), our journey consisted of paddling back to our original starting location. While I had kayaked numerous times before, this was certainly the heaviest winds
and waves I had ever experienced in a kayak. Fortuntately, the wind was largely at our backs, although the waves got somewhat... unsettlingly intense at times. We kayaked under a waterfall, and
eventually lashed our kayaks together and used a make-shift sail for a ways. The trip back was long and somewhat strenuous, but not unpleasant. On the way back, we passed numerous coves, caves,
and basking seals. Although we brought our lunch on the whole trip, we didn't really have an opportunity to eat it until after we got back. From there, we went down to the end of the sound, then
drove back to "The Chasm" which was apyly named. We parked, dodged a local Kea who accosted people in hopes of food, and found the site itself, which was a very impressive narrow waterfall through
the stone.

From there, we returned to Knobs Flat, where we took a brief nap, then made dinner, this time indoors. Dinner turned out fine, and we complemented the shrimp with the Pinot Gris from Peregrin that 
we had acquired earlier. The three of us recounted old video gaming stories from childhood, the retired at a reasonably early hour, deferring our decision on hikes until the next day, to see what
weather conditions allowed for. A previous forecast had indicated heavy rain between 11 pm and 4 am, the results of which we would have to wait until the morning to see.