Today was the day of my second big excursion in three days -- a trip to Doubtful Sound. I found myself tired, cranky, and not as enthusiastic as I might have been about the long and complex journey required to reach the Sound. Mercifully, as I didn't feel much like walking, the tour bus picked me up right at the YHA hostel. It was a surprisingly small bus, and the driver explained that this was only a transfer bus; we would join the main tour group in Manapouri. Manapouri, as it turned out, was about five miles away. On the way, the driver told us about the diversification of the local farmland, as farmers switched from the once-ubiquitous sheep to beef cattle and red deer. Manapouri was just a wide place in the road. A pup
... read more
