"Life is Good" Dolphins, Kayaking in Doubtful Sound

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Fiordland National Park » Te Anau
February 12th 2006

Published: February 12th 2006

Well, I'm over my illness. Whheeehoo!!! I left Dunedin on the 9th and traveled by bus to Lake Te Anau. Relaxing on a double decker bus letting the driver do all the work of navigating on those hilly roads. Its was nice to just sit back and watch the scenery go by. I didn't regret not cycling that section. Not much to note other than the pastures are greener due to higher rainfall.

Te Anau

I arrived at 7pm to the end of a very hot day at Lake Te Anau. Its a beautiful lake below the growing mountains of the west coast. I checked in to the Motor Camp and then thought "What to do next? Take a shower or....go swimming?" So off to go swimming I went. I had seen more than one person swimming in the lake so I figured it couldn't be that cold. Besides at this lake they weren't all wearing wetsuits like at Lake Tekapo. My observations were right on. It was warmer. It was great to just jump in and swim away the day of traveling. Cool water, sunny evening sky, beautiful scenery. Ahhhh, Life is good.

Then it Got Better- Doubtful Sound

I arrived at the Wilderness Kayak Center at 0600 for 2 days of kayaking on Doubtful Sound. I picked Doubtful over MIlford because it is quieter, less giant tour boats and the Fred crowds. Another woman who was solo cycling and I dropped our bikes at the center and then we loaded up in a small van to pick up an english couple and another woman tramping solo. We drove from Te Anau to Manupouri Lake.

We arrived at a morning cloaked Manupouri Lake where we met up with 3 other kayakers- Brian and Steve from Upper New York State and Kim, an american friend who married a Kiwi and now lives here. So there were 8 of us spending 2 days kayaking together. Hmmm, hope I like them (o: Anyway we loaded all our gear into a small motorboat. We then crossed Lake Manupouri to the other side. It was chilly out but the view was incredible. The morning lake had that midnight blue glow to it. Most of its undeveloped and lined with bush (forest). The distant mountains grew was we crossed the lake. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

We arrived at the end of the lake to a place that has a huge underground power station called Westarm. Its a giant underground hydroelectric generating dam that basically diverts a river's worth of water down giant shafts where they produce electricity for an international aluminum smelter located in a town on the south end of the island. The water then travels 10km under the mountains and is released (unspectacularily) into Doubtful Sound where we would be starting our journey. This project besides beging an engineering feat was the catalyst for New Zealand's environmental / conservation movement. We were given the whole story as we loaded up and drove overland to Doubtful Sound. Its a 40 minute drive over a pass to the sound.

We arrived, loaded all our gear into our kayaks and headed out. We had two person kayaks. Kim (the transplanted American) and I teamed up together. We set out in 4 two person kayaks with Sam, our Kiwi guide. Sam is a 21 year old kayak guide who was a great trip leader. We spent the day paddling down to a small island and then heading southwest down Hall Arm. The mountains towered approx 2000-3000 feet above us. Waterfalls cascaded from the tops of these mountains all the way down to the sound. We were surrounded by real native bush and we could hear the bird songs throughout the trip.

We stopped for lunch at a beautiful beach with large sitting rocks, a beautiful stream, and sandy beach. We ate our lunch and then I hiked a ways up the stream bed to take a look at the native plant life. On the way back I realized I was pretty warm in my wetsuit so...... I came back and asked if anyone was up for swimming. There was some hestitation then Steve stripped off his wetsuit. He was wearing a swimsuit underneath. I was not so intrepid. I kept my wetsuit on and dove in. It as wonderful. I thought I'd freeze my #@$ off but it felt great. The mixture of freshwater and cold water was perfect. There was a shelf that went out about 20 feet and then dropped off into...shark territory (o: Steve dove right in and stayed in. Then Brian had to go in, then Kim, then Mike and Kathy (?) Pretty much an incredible way to start our adventure. Swimming in a Fjord in the middle of nowhere with mountains towering above us.

Then we loaded back in to our kayaks and headed deeper down the arm. The wind kicked up and Sam came over and gave us a quick lesson in how to sail. We rafted up two kayaks each (that is where we hold two kayaks together with our paddles and arms while we are in them). Then we hoisted the sail and we were off. Cruising down the arm by the power of the wind. Ofcourse our group figured it out sooner and we sped ahead. No friendly competition aye? It was just too much fun to be sailing in our kayaks. What a perfect day for an area known for its torrential rains.

We reached the end of the arm and then paddled back up the arm to our camp for the night. A quiet forest retreat complete with bug proof tent.

Note on Sand FliesFor those of my friends who aren't familiar with Sand Flies I'll give you an idea. Its like a 1000 tiny misquitoes hovering all around you. We all looked something like Pig Pen from the Peanuts. You'd have thought none of us had taken a shower in months. They bite but you don't know it until your skin starts to itch and it feels like it spreads to every stitch of exposed skin. Some of our natural organic trip mates were lathering on the DEET about an hour in to the trip. Give me those toxic chemicals.

We brought the kayaks into camp and then put up our tents in quiet spots in the forest. Changed and then a mad dash for the bug proof tent. Shelter from the black storm. The tent was on a wood platform with 9 power loungers, stoves, and cooking implements. We all met in there and cooked our individual dinners. All happy to help Brian and Steve eat their desserts of Tim Tams, Lemon Cookies, and of course Cadbury chocolate. This was drawn out by some by the addition of red wine and scotch. The conversations ranged from who made the best tea in England, to Sam's horrible post traumatic stress event, to tramping, to cycling in headwinds. It continued on with the beauty of the sound, politics, philosophy, and the wisdom of growing older. The rest of us were all over 30 so we imparted our years of wisdom to Sam, our 21 year old guide. I went to bed early since my 445 wake up call that morning was catching up with me. The party went on for quite awhile as I heard them around 11pm still debating the who had the better coffee (not really). Hands down, the Americans.

Anyway, morning came at 0730. A leisurely wake up for me. We ate breakfast and then headed out for a day of paddling and one of the highlights of my entire trip. We headed back out Haul Arm to an island in the main channel called Elizabeth island. We circumnavigated it and then came to our lunch spot. Right before we reached our lunch spot Sam did a roll in his kayak for us. He promised that if we hadn't seen any dolphins he would do a roll in his kayak and give us his best impersonation of a dolphin. We had given Sam a hard time the night before saying we had ordered up dolphins and we wanted to see pnguins and could he please make that happen. Sam assured us that the dolphins came through at 9am in the morning so if we were up and in our kayaks ready to go by then that we would get to see them. Hmmm, sounds like BS to us. Rumour has it that you can't believe anything a westsider says to you because they lie (o:

No sooner had we beached for lunch when Sam exclaimed that the dolphins were coming up the fjord. 8 of our crew jumped in and made a mad dash for the other side of the channel to see the dolphins. I decided to pass along iwth Kim and Brian. I thought I'd watch them from shore and take photos. I need a few moments out of the kayak. So they went out to see the dolphins. I watched as the dolphins put on a show for us. A few leaped wildly out of the the water. They are playful and are quite the hams. They then continued pass us on the opposite side of the channel heading deeper inland. Maybe we would see them again later.

We finished up our lunch and started kayaking again. No more than 10 minutes later we had dolphins swimming all around us. A few were as close as 10 feet away. One swam under our kayak. It was an incredible treat to be this close to these playful creatures of the sea. Its almost too cool to be true, right. Well it is. I absolutely loved it. I'd never been that close to dolphins in the water before. In the kayaks they are right there. It can't even come close to seeing them in a bigger boat or on shore. Its like being part of their school for a brief time, swimming along with them. That made my day!!

Anyway we parted with the dolphins and paddled back to our take-out. We paddled in, loaded our gear and make the drive back over the pass to the boat. Then the boat trip across Lake Manupouri, and then said a few goodbyes to Steve, Brian, and Kim. They were headed off to tramp the Routeburn track and go abseiling in Wanaka (hey that sounds fun).

Once again the people made the trip more enjoyable. Great company among travelers. It has definitely been the highlight of my trip made even more sweet because I was recovered from my illness and feeling back to my old self again. Ready for more adventure and sights.

Day-in-between

I'm off to Milford Sound tomorrow for a tour. I just have to see this magestic place crowds and all. Its a day tour on a small shuttle and boat. Then its off to Queenstown. adventure capital of New Zealand. I keep making plans and then changing them. Then I just decided, heck with it. I'll get there when I get there and do what I want when I get there. No sense in planning because I might find something in on the way and make a detour here and there.

Backyard Adventure Girl

Lisa

"Life is Good" Dolphins, Kayaking in Doubtful Sound

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