Eight Mile Paddle Through Paradise


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Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Te Anau
March 3rd 2015
Published: March 3rd 2015
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Today was the day. My long awaited sea kayaking trip on Doubtful Sound had finally arrived. We had to be up early this morning. We had to meet at the outfitter's office at 7:15am, and it was about a 20 minute drive from our motel. Getting to Doubtful Sound is a bit of a labor of love. After meeting our small group of ten, we boarded a boat for a 45 minute cruise to West Arm (that sounds peaceful, but it really is a little fishing boat, engine running wide open across the lake, so you can imagine how big the lake is for that to last 45 minutes), and then about a 45 minute mini bus ride on a gravel road to where you put in. I'm not at all complaining, mind you, simply describing what it took to make this trip happen. It rained like crazy yesterday, and this morning it was still misty and foggy. It made for a chilly boat ride. I wasn't altogether disappointed with the weather. I had heard that rain makes the waterfalls spectacular in the sound. Of course, that sounded good to me! At the same time, though, I was hoping for some clearing so we could see the tops of the mountains. Well, we got it all! There was so much rain yesterday (this is by rank, the 4th wettest place on Earth) that the waterfalls were still running, the morning mist and fog clung mysteriously to the mountains, and by afternoon the sky was blue and the sun brightly shining! Lucky us! I really can't say what I prefer, it was all awe inspiring. The sound (actually it is a fiord, but who's keeping track) was spectacular. The waters were so incredibly calm in the morning. It was like gliding on glass. Because it's a fiord (okay, I guess it does matter), we were able to paddle right up to the mountain walls, glide under waterfalls, and sit under tree branches, all while floating on top of up to 600 feet of water - and that's not even the deepest part of the sound. We watched a sea gull lunching on an eel it had dragged onto a rock. Another sea gull chased us away from the mountainside, squawking at us and (sorry) pooping everywhere, protecting her nest. And, in the not too far off distance, we heard fiordland crested penguins chattering away. And since Doubtful Sound is the least accessible and therefore least visited of the sounds in Fiordland, we had it mostly to ourselves. It was magnificent. To be so far removed from the nearest town (which I guess would be Manapouri, where we met our group - population 210), and amongst such pristine, untouched nature...it's indescribable. I looked around several times today and pondered how grateful I was for this experience. Pure bliss. Dare I say again that this was the best day yet? Oh, New Zealand, you have captured my heart.


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