I set the alarm this morning so we’d be up and ready to head to Manapouri for our journey to Doubtful Sound. The sky was reasonably bright and not raining…yet. The 20 minute drive was scenic with the snow covered peaks all around, a sight we’re becoming accustomed to!
Real NZ are the only company that offer these tours and you have the option of catching their bus from Te Anau or of joining the tour at the dock at Manapouri Lake . We chose the latter and needed to check in at the dock by 9.40am at the latest. Being very organised we arrived early enough to have a coffee before we boarded the first boat of the day.
The trip to Dountful Sound is a bit of a marathon. The first part is a 45 minute boat ride across Manapouri Lake to the Manapouri Power Station, a large underground hydroelectric power station . It utilizes water from Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau to generate electricity for the entire South Island, with a significant portion of its 850 MW installed capacity housed in a huge cavern 200 meters below the surface of the Lake. We had an interesting commentary to listen to on this part which described how the power station was built .
Rain had started to fall lightly as we waited at the dock and continued as we crossed the lake, so our view out the wet windows wasn’t great.
Once we disembarked from the first boat at West Arm on the other side of the lake, we spent about 10 minutes at the vistor center looking at the displays before we all climbed on board a coach for the 45-minute drive over the breathtaking Wilmot Pass. This extraordinary road, the only one in New Zealand not connected to the main road network, ascends 671 meters through dense rainforest. The sky here was foggy so we couldn’t see much beyond the immediate rainforest, but it was spectacular. The trees were thickly covered with dense moss and it didn’t surprise me to learn that this area was another that peter Jackson had used for Lord of the Rings. As we climbed the pass we were on a road with a 1:6 gradient and near the top there was snow on the ground
The road after the pass was even steeper, 1:5, but our driver said he’d driven it in worse conditions and was familar with the tedious task of putting chains on the bus wheels!
Finally we arrived at the cruise dock in Deep Cove, to board our second boat for our three hour tour of Doubtful Sound. This fiord is three times longer and ten times larger than Milford Sound, so in 3 hours we still only saw a small part of it. During the first part as we wound our way down the sound towards the sea, the skies were still grey and the tops of the peaks shrouded in cloud. However, the advantage of coming in wet weather is that a multitude of incredibly high temporary waterfalls spring up.
We had an excellent nature guides providing commentary on the unique flora, fauna, and geology of the area. Neil and I found a spot under cover on the top deck , near the skipper’s control area. We could pop outside to a covered area to take photos and retreat to the warm when the wind was too wild. Some very hardy souls stayed up top, but I went up there once in the first part of our cruise and was nearly blown away!
The only sign of habitation in this wild area is the ironically named “Blanket Bay Hotel”, a fishing hut built on stilts over the water, which officially makes it marine land. In the past, it served as a depot for freezing crayfish tails, which were then sent to the US market. It didn’t look like there was anyone home when we crusied past.
As we neared the entrance to the sound the waves built beneath us and we stayed out the back to enjoy the ride. Luckily we both have good sea legs, and I loved it! However, there were some unhappy people inside with the heads down on the tables looking very green during this part of the cruise.
Out at this end of the sound we did finally come across some local residents, at the Shelter Islands. The small bare rocks were being enjoyed by a colony of New Zealand Fur Seals. They haul themselves up here to rest after spending days at sea hunting for food.
After this the boat turned around and we started to head back to Deep Cove. The cruise took us up a couple of the more scenic arms of the sound, and by this stage the skies had lifted somewhat and we could really appreciate the height of the cliffs and the waterfalls.
A highpoint was when we pulled in to Arm Cove and the narrator asked everyone to put their phones and cameras away and to sit quietly while they turned off the boat engine for 5 minutes. This is called the Sounds of Silence part of the tour and it really was lovely to just sit and listen the sound of waterfalls and birds. It was great that everyone co-operated – the passengers on the boat were a mix of people from all over the world, lots of Americans and a smattering of Europeans.
Neil and I had been discussing how hard it was to take photos to convey the grandeur of the scenery, but at one point we passed another tourist boat heading up the sound. If you look carefully at the picture above you can see it at the bottom left. I also recorded this video to show just how high the cliffs are.
The sun was now peeping out in places as we neared Deep Cove again, and I managed to catch a shot of a rainbow over one of the waterfalls. The boat beneath it is one of the ones they use for overnight tours on the sound. After we docked and boarded the bus againand we were pleased that the fog had cleared so that when we drove back over Wilmot Pass we were able to stop at a viewing spot for a wonderful view back down to the sound below.
The sky stayed bright for our trip back, and decided that on arriving back in Te Anau we would pick up a BBQ chicken and salad for our dinner tonight. We’d had a big day and didn’t feel like going out to eat. We did enjoy sitting on our verandah and watching the sky while we had a couple of drinks and talked over our impressions of Doubtful Sound. It’s been a highlight that’s for sure.
However, our plans for tomorrow have received a big hit…. more to come…
