Dusky Sound

Dusky Sound, New Zealand's longest fjord (44km), is also one of the most beautiful, with numerous wooded islands and inlets. It was given its name by Captain Cook, who sailed past the fjord on his first voyage, in 1770, as evening was falling. In 1773, on his second voyage, he sailed into the sound and spent over 6 weeks overhauling his ship, the Resolution, and taking in supplies. He encountered groups of shy Maoris, who had perhaps withdrawn to this remote area in the face of attacks by more aggressive tribes. George Forster gives a vivid account of the meeting with the Maoris and also of a plague of sandflies. Nowadays the area is almost uninhabited, but the sandflies are still there. The seals that were once common in the fjord were