4/1/10 (te anau)
Te Anau - Doubtful Sound
I had a bit of a meltdown the prior night and I am sure Annie will have good fun telling the story for years to come. It had rained all night and it continued into the morning. This makes things pretty difficult in the camper van and it is almost impossible to keep things dry. We got a late start on the day due to the fact we purchased internet in the morning and we were busy checking email and updating the blog. We had to be in Manapouri at 12:10 for our overnight dinner cruise and we had some time to get prepped. After a nice muesli breakfast and some quick showers we were on our way.
Manapouri is roughly 20 kilometers away from Te Anau and it was a pretty foggy and rainy ride. We arrived a bit early and parked in a nearby overnight lot for our cruise to Doubtful Sound. It is isn’t easy to get to the sound. We have to take an hour ferry ride across Lake Manapouri, which is quite scenic but on this day was covered with dense fog. After the ferry ride we arrive at a remote power station that leads to “the most expensive road in New Zealand.” It cost 1.1 million in the sixties and took two years to carve through dense forest. It goes from Lake Manapouri to Doubtful Sound and takes about 30 minutes. Once there we get on the boat that will take us around the sound. It was quite an adventure just getting there.
When we arrived to the boat called the Fiordland Navigator we were welcomed by the crew in the saloon. There were about 50 people with us on the cruise. We were then shown to the quad-share where we would bunk with Trish and Trevor, a very nice Australian couple. It was back to the dorm days...a nice set of bunk beds on the lower level of the ship. After we were situated in the quad, I quickly grabbed the camera to take some video of our cruise. The ship had set sail and one advantage to all the rainfall was we were going to see some epic waterfalls in the sound.
Doubtful Sound got it’s name because when Captain Cook sailed by and looked at the entrance and called it a doubtful harbor because he was concerned about having enough wind to exit the sound. The name stuck. The sound has a very intimate feel with the narrow body of water surrounded by massive mountain formations. The water is quite dark with the fresh water from the rainfalls meeting the ocean saltwater. It was incredibly beautiful. We cruised along for several hours exploring massive waterfalls and finally made it to the Tasman sea and saw a large colony of seals and an old crawfish (lobster) station. They then brought us back to the saloon for some warm soup and prepped us for the activities. We could go our on a motor boat to explore the shoreline or we could do some kayaking. We chose to kayak.
This was Annie’s first time kayaking and with new found confidence from her Fiji snorkeling success she was excited. I knew it would be interesting. We grabbed bouncy jackets and a paddle and jumped in our kayaks off of the rear of the Navigator. We were off, well kind of. Annie initially perfected the art of the circle in her kayak and we quickly moved to the rear of the group. After some wonderful instruction and a bit of patience from a crew member she got the hang of it and we started to explore the sound’s shoreline. I tried taking photos that quickly proved difficult due to the rain. After about 45 minutes we headed back to the ship for the evening swim. The water was incredibly cold at 12 degrees Celsius and it was encouraged for anyone who wanted to test it out. Several people quickly jumped in and even quicker got back on the boat. I contemplated a bit but decided I would probably never get the chance again and that was what that trip was all about. I jumped in and my body instantly stung in shock. I was on the boat as fast as possible. Unfortunately, Annie wasn’t around with a camera and she arrived just as I was toweling off. Disappointed, she talked me into it again and I got my second helping of the cold Sound. After the evening swim and a warm shower, it was time for dinner.
The food was one of the most impressive things on this trip. They had a huge variety and it was really good. We sat next to some new friends, an English couple Georgy and Cathy as well as an Australian couple Erin and Wei. We spent the next few hours swapping stories and strategies about how to combat the sand flies and had a nice evening. Around 10 everyone started to file out of the saloon to head to bed. We stepped outside on the deck for a quick look and it was pitch black without a sound, a bit eerie. With everyone in bed Annie and I grabbed the laptop to catch the latest episode of Lost I had downloaded in the morning and then we were off to bed.
It turned out that Trevor was a bit of a snorer and I have become a light sleeper on this trip so my night proved to be void of sleep but the day was pretty incredible day.
Likes: Doubtful Sound, the ride in, kayaking, swimming, and our new friends.
Dislikes: Quad-share and snoring.
New Zealand, South Island in Daily Adventures
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