Action Man and his wife visit the fiords!

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Feb 26th
Since we last logged on we’ve been to the wilds and back! We haven’t been any where to get any possible internet connection. We drove from Queenstown - a lively place with lots of shops and bars & restaurants and places togo Jet water rafting, sky parachuting and the like! to Manapauri.
We had enquired about an overnight cruise on Doubtful sound at Queenstown and were told the earliest time would be the 6th March!!! So we went to Manapauri and we went the next morning on the 7am trip. It was a very early start but boy was it worth it. It was dark when we set off and you begin with a 45 minute boat trip across Lake Manapauri- we saw the sunrise over the lake colouring the mountains pink. Then we went on a coach over the Wilmot Pass, so by the time we reached Doubtful Sound it was a beautiful sunny morning. There were only 24 of us on this trip and we had the boat to ourselves. It was a glorious day and a wonderful trip. We saw some Fiordland Penguins - Rare even down here - they have lovely yellow whiskery eyebrows and look very cute. We saw a pod of Bottlenose dolphins playing around the boat and lots of NZ fur seals. But the scenery was the star really - you can’t begin to describe it. Wonderful mountains covered in trees rising from the water- . They have a point of turning all the engines and generators off for a few minutes and you have some idea of the silence and stillness of it all. There is no evidence of man at all as there are no roads or tracks - it is inaccessible except by boat. I know we were there and on a tourist boat run just for people to stare and experience it - but all the same it felt very untouched.
Spurred on by this, we decided to go on to Milford Sound - a fiord which is accessible by road albeit a 2 hour trip from the nearest town. We camped at a ‘conservation’ campsite i.e. a pitch by the side of a river- no facilities, about halfway along the Milford road. So by Thursday we were ready to go on a cruise on Milford Sound. Again to avoid the very busy crowds - this really is the coach party Place! We decided to go on the 3.30pm trip on a small boat. By then it was raining but the Fiord looked very moody and mysterious with clouds hanging around the mountains. The waterfalls were really good with the rainfall and it was very dramatic. We camped in the car park that night.
We are now heading down south towards Invercargill and Stewart Island. It’s been a really sunny day and we’re looking forward to the next stage.

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Photos

Doubtful sound
From the Wilmot Pass

Doubtful sound
Awesome

Kea
Cheeky Parrots

Milford Sound
moody in the rain

milford Sound
under the Bowen falls

Milford Sound
Mitre Peak early morning

Comments

[Jean Head]

The Sounds
Well it certainly 'sounds' as though you enjoyed this part of the trip - they don't take the tourists there for nothing!! Bernie is feeling envious (watch out David). Hope you enjoy the Invercargil and Stewart Island. love Jean

[Dave & Sam Jo Be Al]

Pining for the Fiords!
Hats off to you David for the bungy jump- what a thrill! What a great adventure and so good to see what you are doing.

[Gill and Jeff]

Got the T-Shirt
I am really envious of all you're doing on this trip, bar the bungy jump! Brings back memories of our trip. Looking forward to hearing about Stewart Island and Invercargill as we didn't get that far south. Lotsa love xx