Doubtful Sound

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So despite Milford Sound being the most famous fiord (as it’s the only one accessible by road for people to visit), Doubtful Sound is supposed to be even more spectacular, and a lot less crowded as only one company runs trips there. So as much as I don’t like taking touristy trips, I have decided that as I am here, I should see doubtful sound, and as it isn’t accessible by road, the only way I can reach it is by an organised day trip.

So after an amazing sleep in my private room and double bed I am up early and waiting for the bus at 7am. It is a short coach journey to Manapouri (where I cycled to the other week) to get on the boat. It is then a 40min boat ride across Manapouri lake, which is stunning in itself with the early morning mist still hanging over the lake and the water looking totally glassy, all whilst surrounded by massive green mountains! Once off the boat we jump on to a coach which takes us on the most expensive road in New Zealand to Doubtful Sound (which is also a fiord). At $2 per cm this is the most expensive road as it was built especially for the opening of the aluminium smelting factory and the hydro power station to fuel it. All the machines to build the road were brought over by boat, the road built to allow the machinery to then start building the smelting and hydro power station!

We are finally at the fiord, and here we board another boat which will take us on the 3 hour cruise around the fiord. True to everybodys word, Doubtful Sound is, without doubt (ha ha!) heaps better than Milford. The silence, glassyness of the water and dramatic scenery create a very awe inspiring atmosphere that is almost errie. Words really can’t describe it as I have never been anywhere like it before, but it was beyond beautiful.

The entire cruise I spent out on deck, on the way out, on the top deck, absorbing the scenery and talking to a lovely New Zealand couple and Australian couple. I gained a lot of insider knowledge about where to go and where not to go on my travels from the ‘locals’. I soaked in the scenery and we spotted wildlife including Fiordland Crested Penguins with their yellow moeheakans playing in the water, New Zeland Fur seals on ‘seal rock’ a pair of albatross birds, and when we reached the opening of the fiord to the Tasman Sea – a pod of 100-200 bottlenose dolphins. It was captivating to watch them playing around in the open ocean.

On the way back from the Tasman Sea opening I went to the outside deck at the front of the boat. The view here was different, being closer to the water made the encounter even more amazing and the mountains around seem even larger. On the front deck I got talking to an American couple who were so lovely, in 1994 they had spent a year and a half walking West to East across America – and we were sharing blister stories and she was giving me advice about what to do with them and shoes etc. The hours passed and we were all still chatting away, stopping to admire the scenery every now and again, and they have invited me to go and stay with them in Maine whenever and go out sailing on their boat!

But back to the trip, on the way back to the beginning of the fiord we went out and into the Southern arm of the fiord. Deep into the fiord we all had to be quiet and still and they turned the engines of the boat off – and there we all stood for 14mins in total silence, captivate by the beauty of the area. It seemed a shame to turn the engines back on, and even after people were silent, still absorbing the experience for a while.

Back on the bus we went down to the Manaporui Power hydro power station, the tunnel 20km long deep into the earth! It was very interesting, they can produce 700MW of electricity per day, which requires 3000 cubic metres of water a second flowing through the turbines.

The whole day trip was amazing and I met some really lovely people, the couple from New Zealand, the Australian couple x2, the American family and a Welsh family and gained invites for places to stay in Northern New Zealand and Maine If I would like!

I get back to Te Anau around 5pm, have a quick snooze and book my onward bus to Queenstown for Tuesday, as I have to admit I really need a rest day and to give my blisters and feet a day off! Caroline had invited me for dinner this evening, and I had a lovely time with them, and their friend Ross who was staying for the week who is a professional takahae photographer and was going off with DOC to do some work in the kepler for the week.

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