Fiordland, New Zealand
There are few places where the weather has quite so much say in what happens next.
Fiordland is one of them.
The first voyage of HAVN took us aboard the MV Pembroke, leaving from Broughton Arm and travelling through Breaksea, Doubtful and Dusky Sound. There was wind, rain, calm water, big seas and the kind of visibility that can change from one moment to the next.
On the run to Doubtful Sound for fuel, the water picked up and the Pembroke began to roll. It was a good reminder that out here, you are very much at the mercy of the weather.
Then, sometimes, everything stopped.
One early morning, ice crystals had formed around the moon. The first light was beginning to come over the mountains and the water was still. The sort of morning that makes everyone a little quieter.
These are the moments that people who spend their lives in Fiordland talk about.
Mitch was our skipper on the Pembroke. He is also a helicopter pilot with Southern Lakes Helicopters, flying commercially and undertaking search and rescue work. Before aviation, he was a high-country farmer.
He likes the early mornings best, before everyone else is awake. From the bridge, the day starts slowly. First light comes over the mountains, the water begins to change and there is always something to look out for.
Dolphins. Seabirds. Whales.
Or nothing at all.
Mitch talked about how different Fiordland looks from a helicopter compared with the bridge of a boat. From above, you can see the shape of the landscape and how far everything stretches. From the water, you are looking ahead, waiting to see what is around the next corner.
He told a story about a pod of six whales. One separated from the group and headed into the sound, while other fishermen later reported seeing only five.
For a while, nobody knew where the sixth whale had gone.
Later, the six were seen together again further south, close to Stewart Island.
It is a small story, but it says something about Fiordland. There is always more happening beyond what you can see.
Scotty was also at the helm during the trip. Between the two of them, there was always something happening on the boat; checking the weather, preparing for the next leg, fixing things, maintaining the Pembroke and keeping everything running.
Out here, a lot of the work happens quietly.
Then there was Katherine.
Cook. Deckhand. Diver. Hunter. Food grower.
Catherine moves naturally between all of these things.
One morning we went down to the beach to gather mussels. Back on the boat, they became beautiful pickled mussels.
There was fishing for blue cod and other fish, followed by smoked cod wings and fish burgers.
Katherine dived for pāua, bringing it back to the boat to be sliced and cooked it in butter with garlic and lemon.
The food was incredible, just as much as the process of gathering it.
Katherine talked about how the gathering and hunting for food is just as enjoyable as being out in the elements. "To take wild food and eat it is how you truly connect with a place."
There is a particular kind of attention that comes with being in a place like this.
You observe the weather, water, all the different greens of the trees, you try and find a glimpse of a dolphin or perhaps a whale.
Some of the favourite places from the voyage were Broughton Arm and Disappointment Cove, with Harbour Island holding a particular place in the story of HAVN.
The Lens Keepers came along for the journey too; on the bridge, in the helicopter and amongst the cameras, binoculars and glasses that are part of everyday life out here.
Because when the landscape is this good, you want to see it properly.
And when you're moving between salt water, spray, rain, changing weather and long days outside, the small things you carry with you matter.
HAVN began with a simple idea: to make a better thing to have with you when you're out seeing the world.
The first Lens Keeper is made from 100% merino wool; a natural, tactile alternative to the synthetic lens cloths that have become so commonplace.
Taking it into Fiordland felt like the right place to begin.
On the bridge of the Pembroke.
Looking out from a helicopter.
Watching the first light come over the mountains.
Cleaning a lens before looking out at another stretch of water.
The first voyage was a few days in Fiordland, but it was also a meeting with the people who make a life here. People who know the weather, maintain the boats, fly above the sounds, dive for pāua, gather mussels, catch fish and wake early to watch the world come to life.
People who spend a lot of their time looking.
And there was no better place for HAVN to begin.
The first voyage.
Fiordland, New Zealand.
