Bright and early the next morning we made our way down to Pearl Harbour at the bottom of the hillside. From here, we would catch a ferry across Lake Manapouri then board a minibus to take us over the Wilmot Pass before eventually arriving at Deep Cove where our vessel for the next 24 hours awaited – the handsome Seafinn, on which we would explore Doubtful Sound. Whilst we waited on the habourside we got to know our fellow passengers. There were 7 of us in total; us two, then two unrelated American couples (the younger of which were also honeymooners) plus a Mexican chap who we would meet later as he was making his own way to the Seafinn.
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| At Pearl Harbour |
Small talk over, we were soon on board the ferry chugging our way across to the far side of the lake and sipping our complimentary hot drinks. We had woken to blue skies but as we made the crossing we could see clouds looming ominously in the distance and mist hanging low in the valleys shrouding the tops of the peaks. This was half expected as we were now entering Fiordland, where it rains something like 9 days out of every 10. The upshot of this as we later discovered is a landscape full of hundreds and hundreds of waterfalls – from long white ribbons that snaked an impossible distance down the mountainside to wide torrents that gushed down well carved routes, undisturbed for thousands of years.
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| Entering Fiordland |
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| Approaching Manapouri Power Station |
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| Waterfalls from the Wilmot Pass |
On arrival at Manapouri Power Station we disembarked and sought out our skipper. Chris was waiting for us with a friendly welcome, and so were a few of the native sandflies too – although we didn’t appreciate their presence quite so much! Fleeces were firmly zipped up to our necks and sleeves rolled down, and there they remained until we were back in the relative safety of Te Anau the next day! Having temporarily thwarted the sandflies, we boarded the minibus. The Wilmot pass is a mere two miles long, but took two years to build - an indicator of the challenging terrain and the density of the vegetation. As we began our steep ascent a sign some joker had placed at a small junction which made us chuckle, as it indicated a golf course a couple of kilometres hence. There was no flat land in sight for miles, not to mention very little sign of civilisation!
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| First sight of Deep Cove |
Once safely down from the mountain we were shown to our cabin and told to make ourselves at home by the friendly crewmate-cum-cook Tracey. The Seafinn was quite a small boat, so it didn’t take long to look around. The main deck encompassed a large communal lounge with stairs at one end leading to the cabins beneath. At the other end was the galley kitchen and a door to the outside area where the showers/toilets were located.
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| The Seafinn |
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| Our cosy cabin |
Doubtful Sound is less well known than Milford Sound, yet it is ten times larger and equally as breathtaking. We explored all 'arms' of the Sound aside from the ‘First Arm’, which is protected water. Not long after we chugged away from Deep Cove, we were given the opportunity to enjoy our second spell of kayaking of the holiday, but this time in single-seater kayaks. Mercifully, the Sound was much calmer than the sea had been at Cathedral Cove and so we drifted along at a much more leisurely pace, enjoying the tranquillity and getting as close as is humanly possible to the many waterfalls along the sheer edge of the cliffs. It was like exploring a lost world as we peered into the depths of the vegetation, fruitlessly trying to see further than a few metres. When we caught up with the boat, we swapped kayak for fishing rod. The fish we caught here were intended to be used as bait for the boat’s lobster pots, but we only had limited success! The younger of the American gentleman had more luck and even caught a fairsized blue cod which was put aside for the dinner pot.
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| View from the kayaks |
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Water, water, everywhere!
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| Catch of the day and skipper Chris! |
As we reached the end of the Sound, going out as far as the Tasman Sea, the weather started to close in and the influence of the tide became greater. However, here we saw the most wildlife, with Chris expertly steering the boat through the choppy coastal waters so that we could see penguins sheltering in caves, cormorants gathered on rocks and yet more seals basking on the rocks unperturbed by the elements. The highlight of the trip came as we entered calmer waters once more to check up on the lobster pots. The eagle-eyed skipper noticed a dolphin splash in the distance and as we moved in for a closer look, a whole pod swam into view. We realised that they were only swimming slowly when one or two sped up and leapt clean out of the water. The most curious of the dolphins even deviated towards us and darted under the boat before continuing their journey out to sea. Seeing dolphins in the wild was definitely a sight worth braving the drizzle for!
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| The wild Tasman sea |
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| Colourful lichen |
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| Penguin sheltering on the rocks |
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| Dolphins! |
Tracey had cooked up a storm in the tiny galley kitchen – crayfish caught from their own traps for lunch and the blue cod and wild venison for dinner. The evening ended inside the boat trying to ignore the very annoying sandflies, drinking cider and learning how to play Hearts with our new chums before retiring to bed where we slept soundly (no pun intended!) ‘til the engines started up at 6.30am the next morning. There was a little more cruising to be completed through the Sound – we even saw NZ Christmas tree on one of the many islands – before we had to say regretful goodbyes and return to Manapouri at midday.
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| Dawn over Doubtful Sound |
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| The NZ Christmas tree - so-called because of the red berries you can just make out at the top of the picture! |
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| Keeping those fleeces firmly zipped up! |
We jumped into the car straightaway so we could arrive at Wanaka at a reasonable hour. For the first time on our trip, we had to backtrack, taking the same route as two days previous until we once again reached Queenstown. From here we deviated, choosing this time to take the ever so steep and slightly terrifying Crown Range road (Youtube it!). At the top, we stopped for a breather and to drink in yet more spectacular views back down the valley towards Queenstown before heading onward to Wanaka.
