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Published: October 26th 2007
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Clear Skies in the Sound!
Gorgeous views in Doubtful Sound early in the morning. Woke up early and no chance of sleeping in - even if we wanted to, which we didn’t as we are eager to see what the day and the Sound would have in store for us. And guess what??? It WAS NOT raining. Hmm…someone must’ve been wishing real hard overnight for better weather. And so it was…after breakfast the skies cleared even more and the sun was shining bright.
For the rest of the morning we spent lots, in fact, most of the time out on deck. It was still very chilly, even more for me as my jacket was still wet from the kayaking so only had fleecy jumper and beanie to keep me warm. However it was the place to be to take in the gorgeous sites and take photos without feeling crowded.
Before long we were joined by a pod of dolphins of the bottlenose type. (Sorry, don’t remember the significance but it sounds good, huh?) They cruise in the wake of the boat on each side for at least 10 minutes. There’s a young calf who is very playful and inquisitive, lolling around and looking up at us every now and then.
When the
Playful Dolphins
What a great sight these dolphins were as they playfully cruised along with our boat. Note the 2 in the foreground underwater as well as the one at the top breaking through. dolphins had finished playing with us we headed to a spot where the boat’s engines and generators were switched off for 5 minutes. Everyone was asked to be still and quiet; not to talk or move about or even take photos. All so as not to disrupt their fellow passenger. It was our chance to listen and feel the Sound. It was very tranquil and beautiful.
The cruise is over. We’re back onto buses…then return boat ride to Manapouri.
Lunch at Lakeside Café as Susan had a craving for a steak-sandwich. Still no-one else around but food was pretty good. Over lunch decided to call Fiordland Helicopters to see if they were flying. The weather was superb so couldn’t see why not. We’re interested in doing a flight which incorporates Milford and Doubtful Sounds and all those in between. Given we had no luck seeing all of Milford Sound Saturday it’s the next best thing.
The flight is organised and driving to just the other side of Te Anau.
Jonathon is our pilot and it’s just him and Susan and I today - which is just perfect. We go through our flight path and learn that we’ll
Glacier Landing
Our helicopter on Tutoko Glacier with Mt Tutoko in the background. have at least 2 landings, one on a glacier and another somewhere in the wilderness of one of the Sounds. ALL RIGHT!!!!
There’s a quick safety briefing…even though we’ve been through it with the helicopter flight from Wanaka we listen very intently…especially the bit about what to do on the glacier! *yikes*
The flight is absolutely awesome. It lasts some 2 hours and we have 3 landings. The first is on a glacier at a height of 7000ft right in front of Mount Tutoko, the highest peak in Fiordland (2746m). In the air it looks barely enough room to land but once we’re down it’s a huge space. It’s more ice then snow so we have to tread hard to break the top crust so we don’t slip…although I do, of course!
We’re off and heading to Milford Sound for a quick refuel and a fly over of the Sound. It was great to see it, very different to Doubtful with more sheer rocky cliffs, not as wide, not as long. To tell you the truth, it was a little disappointing, but we’ve had the benefit of seeing Doubtful for almost 24 hours.
Then we’re heading
Mighty Doubtful
From the air looking down Doubtful Sound from the ocean end. This is only part of the Sound, more is around a bend. along the coast a bit - Tasman Sea to our right and mile after mile of peaks and valleys covered in vegetation on our left. The sun is still shining and as it’s fine we land at a remote hut on Secretary Island which the DOC use in their attempts to eradicate stoat, a small introduced fox-like mammal. Our pilot had picked up a crew a few days ago and the weather had closed in so quickly they couldn’t take all their gear - so we pick up a box which the owner will be very glad to see. The landing is literally just a clearing in 300 year old trees. Yes, they were cut down to make the landing area but don’t worry it’s probably only about 20ft around.
Over the ridge and we’re into Doubtful Sound and we come across the Navigator our overnight home just earlier today. It’s incredible to see the Sound from the air - it really gives perspective to what we’d just done. Lastly we fly through a narrow gorge into an area with a lake and a waterfall, landing on a small pebble beach right on the edge of the lake. Where can’t you land a chopper!?
Homeward bound now back over the Divide which means more mountains, glaciers, lakes (frozen and unfrozen) and snow. As we get back the wind picks up and the rain clouds roll in. We have been so very lucky to have had clear skies for our trip and we are very thankful that we’ve had the opportunity to see this wonderful part of the country from the water and the air.
Back in our car we drive to Queenstown seeing 4 police cars along the way probably because it’s a public holiday. Find our accommodation without trouble. It’s a very modern place, a 1 bedroom apartment, full kitchen (but no dishwasher), 2 couches and huge bathroom. It has views of Lake Wakitipu and The Remarkables mountain range.
We’re about 4kms from Queenstown itself so head in for a quick look around and to get supplies at the supermarket. We are both really tired so don’t have anything too elaborate for dinner. A couple of drinks, plan of what we’re doing tomorrow and we’re off to bed. It’s been a long but incredibly superb day.
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