Today we
are off on an overnight boat trip to Doubtful Sound, which is much less visited
than Milford Sound as it is more difficult to get to. We meet 4 other couples at the harbour who we
will be traveling with – from Holland, the UK, Australia and Canada, so a
mixed bunch with everyone being very nice and friendly. We are all laden with our overnight bags and
there is a distinctive clink in each as the boat is BYO!
After collecting our
lunch boxes we board our first boat across Lake Manapouri with some very
impressive scenery on the way.
The view on Lake Manapouri |
We arrive at West Arm
on the other side of Lake Manipouri where a Hydroelectric power station was
built during the 1950s, virtually all underground, and have a quick look around
the DOC exhibition. New Zealand is known
to be a very environmental country (ticks all of Mrs M’s boxes!) and when the
power station was built there was a huge campaign to raise environmental awareness and minimise the environmental impacts, including preventing the
initial plan to raise Lake levels at Manipouri by 30m which
would have had a massive impact on scenery and the fragile ecology of the
area. One of the reasons that Doubtful
Sound is more accessible now is due to the single track road built between
Doubtful Sound and the power station during the construction phase.
We are collected by
Captain Smiley (otherwise known as John), board the bus for the hours journey
up and over the Wilmot Pass to get to the Sound. We stop off at the exit tunnels for the power
station and he tells us that the second tunnel took twice as long to build as
the first due to a geological error after someone chose the wrong drilling rig
for the granodiorite strata. John also
describes the environmental restoration which was undertaken around the tunnel
exit points as part of the project – double thumbs up from Mrs M!
First view of Doubtful Sound |
We arrive at our boat ‘The
Southern Star’ and are met by Leyton (from Ireland) and Heather (a Kiwi), the
cabin crew for our trip. On we get and
off we go cruising out onto the Sound.
Doubtful Sound is
totally different from Milford Sound and today the sun is out so it is even
more contrasting. We are the only boat
on the Sound, and when the boat engines are tuned off the quietness and
stillness surrounding us are amazing – it is a far cry from our busy lives in
London.
Quiet and still |
As we pass through the
Sound, dolphins are spotted and they start to swim along side us literally
playing with the boat – it is great fun to watch!
We head towards the
Thompson Sound, which is a separate arm off Doubtful and go to check the
Crayfish pots.
Six crayfish have been
caught – they are enormous! Three are
kept for tea and the remaining lucky three live to swim another day, after
being given their freedom.
Dinner... |
As late afternoon
approaches it is announced by Captain John (still smiling) that in order to
have dinner tonight we need to catch it!
Leyton duly sets up the fishing rods and the men on the boat all rise up
to the challenge. Now I’m sure you would
all agree that those of you that know Mr M, would insist that he is not in the
least bit competitive and also extremely modest when he wins at something. After
two hours of fishing the fish bucket is getting very full and he is duly
crowned the winner and of course is very gracious in his wining, especially given
we are slightly younger than the other couples!
However the most important thing after the
fishing competition is that we will eat well tonight!
Blue cod - more dinner |
After a few of the
couples go for some kayaking it is time for our much anticipated dinner. Heather and Leyton have done an amazing job
and we dine like kings on freshly caught blue cod, tarakihi, grilled crayfish and then an
amazing buffet of roast chicken, roast lamb with various salads and roast
vegetables, all followed by pavlova!
Well fed and watered
and nearly time for bed it is time for a little star gazing in the Southern
skies, now that the sandflies have also gone to bed. Again a totally amazing view as we are miles
from any kind of light pollution.
We sleep very well in
our cabin and are up early to see the sun gently coming up over Blanket Bay
where we moored up for the night. After
a good breakfast we are all outside watching the amazing scenery as we slowly
make our way back up Doubtful Sound for the return trip, seeing more wildlife
on the way including penguins native to the area.
Amazing views of Doubtful Sound in the morning |
We are all a little
sad as the boat pulls in and it is time to get back on the bus for the return
journey. We say our fond farewells to
Captain John, Leyton and Heather. As we
reach the DOC power station exhibition to wait for the return boat we see
Captain John meeting the next group of people – perhaps we could go again for
another night? A truly fantastic trip
and as we wave goodbye Captain John is still smiling as he has been since he
picked us up yesterday.
Mrs M.
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