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Published: February 20th 2006
Doubtful Sound
Four double kayaks, a Kiwi guide, three days, ~80 K paddle and sailI'm writing from the city of Invercargil, New Zealand's southern-most city. Also, the location of Burt Munroe's home in
The World's Fastest Indian. I've had an amazing past week, so get comfortable.
It began the night before my a three day expedition of Doubtful Sound with Fiordland Wilderness Experience. I met my expedition group with the owner, Bill. He briefed us on our trip and gently broke the news of our pre-6 am wake up times. Ouch. To Doubtful Sound from Te Anau, there was 3 hours of van travel and boat ride across Lake Manapouri before we could think about our paddle. We were getting our money's worth, he insisted.
The next morning, not so bright but very early, I sat with my gear on a dark curb under a flickering street light, trying not to look too suspicious. Half an hour later Adrian picked me up and we were on our way. I climbed into the van with Fiona and Nigel (a Kiwi/English couple), Alistair and Helen (a Scottish couple), Nicky and Adrian (originally from the UK, living in Dunedin) and Nicola (a chemistry teacher from Germany).
First a serene sunrise drive to Pearl Harbor (Serious!)
First Night
Beautiful campsite, awful sandflies. You couldn't breathe through your mouth because you'd inhale them. where we loaded our gear on to a boat to head across Lake Manapouri. Another 20 K drive through Wilmot Pass in a rugged 4WD van and we arrived at the start of Doubtful Sound or as it's known, Deep Cove. Preparations were briskly done and we got on the water before the stiff day breeze picked up.
Adrian is your true bonafide Kiwi adventure man, at least from what I've gathered. Soft-spoken but highly energetic, he had an infectious sense of adventure and mischief. We soon found our paddling capabilities tested. Over the three days, we paddled and sailed close to 80 kilometers. We managed to pack in a four day itinerary into three days and explored most of the arms of the Sound. Adrian was also very wel versed about the areas rich history, from Captain Cook all the way to Lord of the Rings 😊 Personally, it was my first time seriously kayak sailing as well as surfing! What a rush! My shoulders and stomach are sore now but well worth it!
The days were perfect barring the awful buggering sandflies. These pestilent creatures are part of reason these wild places are so well preserved...
Overnight Watefalls
Adrian joked that he had climbed up the mountain overnight and turned on the waterfall faucet they protect them from humans staying long enough to inflict enough damage. There is an old Maori explanation for the sandflies that also confirms that they act as the guardians of these precious areas. I came back with at least a few dozen bites, most in modest places despite using 80% DEET and wearing a full body wetsuit!
We had two days of sunshine and wind capped off at the end with one brilliant day of rain. Unlike most kayaking experiences, we were quite happy to have the rain. The precipitation brings Doubtful Sound to life. We paddled under waterfalls that had cropped up over night and tried not to get too spooked by the misty fog draped over the dark, ominous peaks.
We saw a few pods of bottle nose dolphins, but they weren't too playful. The fluctuating water temperature and salinity makes these pods extremely tempermental. After a good bout of rain there can be a top layer of fresh water that extends 14 meters deep! Because the cliffs that overhang are largely composed of granite, lichens and tree roots, there are no soil layers to soak up this moisture. All the small trickling streams merge
That's Service
The nice thing about kayaking... you can pack in wine coolers to form scores of waterfalls. Also the water runs through these mossy lichen and picks up its color tinting it green or brown. The top layer is very dark, not letting much light through to lower layers. Therefore Doubtful Sound manages to support rare and fragile marine life that you often only find at hundreds of meters depth in the middle of the ocean. As you might have gathered, I really relished all this biological information. Thanks for ignoring that blatant bout of nerdom.
The group we had was full of UK and Kiwi peeps so the mood was always light and the humour was always quick and dry. I learned a lot about it actually, and managed to crack a few jokes myself. Woohoo! It sounds silly, but I felt like I was crossing a canyon between cultures. I arrived back to civilization sad to leave the group but very content.
After Doubtful Sound, I went with Caitlin on the Southern Scenic route from Te Anau down to Bluff. Rarely do we drive at night, so the amazing sunset and full moon over the Southern Lakes Region was quite a treat. I also managed to pick up
Lake Manupouri
Caitlin got to see this bit when she hiked the Kepler enough leg-pulling Kiwi humour on the water and relentlessly frightened Caitlin with my speculations of crazy, gun toting New Zealand sheep farmers in the area. The next day, all forgiven, she was off on the ferry to Stewart Island and I booked it up northwards towards the remote Catlin's Coast.
This area is known for it's remote isolation even from the rest of New Zealand. Combined with the lack of human influence as well as it's interesting geography, there are many species of marine life that thrive only in this area. Hooker sealions and Hector dolphins are both breeds only found in NZ waters. Also the yellow eyed and blue penguins are found in the area as well. I was conflicted, as I imagine most travellers are, by the intense desire to see and experience these creatures and the fear of being the reason their fragile ecosystems are being perturbed. Luckily, the DOC here tries their best to get at a compromise that allows the species to thrive on this high interest but wihtout disrupting their natural habitat too much. Unfortunately, the camp ground in the area doesn't seem to be making as much of an effort as they
advertised their plans to expand their grounds.
I stayed at a great little hostel called The Falls Backpackers near the Purakaunui Falls in the North Catlins. This fantastic hostel was actually on the property of a legitimate sheep and cattle farm! My eyes flashed when I discovere this. It was my one goal before leaving New Zealand to shear a sheep. My stay there was the first opportunity I had in 3 months of travelling. Unfortunately, the shearers are quite heavy and unpredictable, not to mention the sheep! I did watch Ray Francis shear three sheep, including a ram! I also took an hour long ride standing on the back of his pickup truck with two Germans, a Japanese couple and two dogs Ned and Spot, all holding on for dear life! I think this was the highlight of my trip so far 😊
From The Falls, I wanted to head back to Curio Bay where there are penguin, sealion and dolphin colonies. Unforunately Chippy had other ideas... Driving along, she suddenly started to slow down as if I were pressing the breaks (I wasn't) or if I'd shifted down gears (I hadn't). I pulled over and after
Scenic Full Moon Drive
The Southern Scenic Drive from Te Anau a few futile attempts to fix the car by pressing every button I could reach, I just hitchhiked back to the nearest town. Luckily, I was only a few minutes away and drivers are unusually kind to single female stranded motorists hitchhiking in the rain.
After a couple days of being stranded and a few hundred dollars later, Chippy was outfitted with a brand new distributor cap and spark plugs. She STILL doesn't start on the first time, everytime, but at least she does from point A to B again. Sigh. If anyone wants a well-loved, 1984 mint green Honda city in the next week for a really REALLY
REALLY cheap price, shoot me an email 😊
After the car woes, I did manage to sneak in some surf lessons! I've dreamed of learning to surf for a long time and the opportunity to learn among dolphins was too great to pass up. I did much better than my first try along the hurricane coast in North Carolina when I was referred to by close friends as a drowned rat (Thanks Chris). I wiped that day off the books by catching a wave on my own and standing
Stewart Island from Bluff
Approx 30 K away by ferry, seen on a clear day up! I've discovered that I'm ambi-pedrous (is there a proper word for this?) meaning I can go both natural and goofy foot. I also got approached by quite a few dolphins who surfed along side with me! AMAZING! Surfing is a lot like snowboarding once you manage to stand up, but that is easier said than done!
There you have it! Without a doubt, the best and most expensive week I've had in New Zealand. A coincidence? I think not. But a great way to start wrapping things up here in Kiwiland. I head for Oz in the end of February, for an undetermined length of time. My feeling is however, that with my current financial state of affairs, I might just be getting home for Dad's birthday on March 14th. Here's hoping.
much love and safe travels
meesh
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anonymous
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Hi~ So this is a little late, but I got the rugby shirt and necklace (maybe a little over a week ago?)~~ Thanks!!! They are both beautiful and arrived the same day as Paul's late V-day package, so last friday was wonderful~~ Oh, in addition to my new gem (I still can't seem to send a pic via text) I cut my hair again but this time, it's finally as short as I've always wanted it. Think: Youanna. Let me know when you'll be back in the states. Deb and I were thinking of heading down to Florida for our spring break (Sunday the 26th, or monday) and mom suggested we ask Emo (hahaha. . .how else does one spell it?) for the keys to her ~pad~ Let me know if you'll be back then and are interested in joining us~ Enjoy the rest of your trip!