Day 79 & 80 Te Anau and Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise

It's Saturday, December 18, 2010 and we said goodbye to Lake Te Anau and Te Anau.



Lake Te Anau



We are heading for Manapouri which is 20 kilometers south of Te Anau.  That is where we will start the first of three legs that will complete our overnight Doubtful Sound Cruise.  We were told by the people at the campsite to allow for 30 minutes for the drive and shortly into it we discovered why.  The scenery that we had been viewing for the last few days just picked up right where it left off.  The extra time was needed to stop and take pictures.

 

We took at little more than 30 minutes but we reached Manapouri on time so all was good.  We checked in for the first part of our trip which was a 50 minute boat ride across Lake Manapouri.  The lake is New Zealand's fifth largest and second deepest lake, it also is one of its prettiest. The 50 minute drive was quite nice but at 22 kph it drove us off the top deck and into the shelter of the main deck.  We did manage to get a few pictures.



Manapouri Harbor




Leaving the Harbor



Lake Manapouri



Lake Manapouri



White Markings is remains of a tree slide

Once we reached the end of the lake we boarded a bus that would take us to Doubtful Sound.  The 22 kilometer road was built in the 60's at a cost of 4.2 million dollars.  It is a gravel road and is maintained to allow access to the power station and to get the tourists over to Doubtful Sound.  The route we are taking is the only access to Doubtful unless you travel by sea from Invercargill. It was starting to rain which prevented any picture taking through the window however they did stop a couple of times.

In order to complete the journey to Doubtful Sound we had to cross the 621 meter high divide between Mount Wilmot and Mount Mainwaring.  It is called the Milmot Pass and it was here that we got our first look at Doubtful Sound.



Doubtful Sound as seen from Wilmot Pass

 

It was starting to become very overcast but there was still a collective wow when it came into view.  Even with the shadows it was a pretty awesome sight and the best was still to come.

Upon arriving at the docks we were quickly loaded on board our ship which was called the "Fiordland Navigator'' and shown to our cabins.  They didn't take long to get under way so we quickly stowed our stuff and headed to the viewing decks.

Fiordland Navigator

The entire two day trip it was either raining or very overcast and threatening to rain.  This gave the sound ( actually the fiord ) a ghostly, serene, magical look to it.  It was spell binding.

 

We just stood and watched almost had to remind ourselves to take pictures.  We saw Milford Sound without a cloud in the sky but I think I prefer what we witnessed today. The way the clouds were one with the mountains is something that one can only appreciate by being there.  Our pictures could not capture the beauty, we will have to rely on our memories.

 

The cruise had us going to the end of the sound with side trips into a couple of different arms. When we reached the end of the sound we ventured out into the Tasman Sea as surprisingly it was not that rough.  There was more action from the increased swells but it wasn't too bad.  This gave us a chance to get close to a seal colony which resided on a couple of islands in the Tasman Sea.

The Boss



We also saw Little Blue Penguins and Bottlenose Dolphins but they were close to shore and with the shadows I was not able to get a good picture of either of them. However we did get a few good pictures of the landscape.



Coastline of Fiordland




Tasman Sea





Heading in for the night

The Happy Travellers



The cruise was not all about scenery as we got a chance to go Kayaking or a Nature Ride in a Tender Boat.  We opted for the tender boat and opted out of the swimming when we got back from the ride.  I don't do 15 degrees Celsius.

We turned around at the Tasman Sea and headed towards our resting place for the night.  Once we stopped there was a phenomenal buffet awaiting us. As usual I ate way too much however there is always room for desert.  Our dinner companions were a nice couple from Germany ( Martin and Sabine) who were on their honeymoon.  They were on a month long trip in Australia before arriving in New Zealand where they would also stay for a month.  We enjoyed their company and we wish them both the best of luck.

Martin and Sabine

Prior to calling it an evening and heading to bed Kathy was able to take this picture.  A good way to end the evening. 

A special moment for me was the next morning, early the next morning.  I went up on deck at 6AM and had one end of the top deck to myself.  There wasn't a ripple on the water it was so calm. At first it appeared to be deathly silent as all engines were off.  Then the songbirds started or I was hearing them for the first time.  It was a symphony from the forest coming at me on three sides.  It was a pretty special 30 minutes.


I had a short repeat later that day when the captain recreated what I had this morning.  He stopped in a very pretty bay and shut down everything.  Everybody stood perfectly still for 5 minutes, just looked and listened.

My first special moment ended with the starting of the engines at 6:30AM. We had another wonderful buffet for breakfast and then spend the morning exploring more of the sound. It rained most of the morning but we still enjoyed ourselves immensely.  The quiet beauty of Doubtful Sound will be etched into our memories forever. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever had the pleasure of seeing.



The return trip from the dock on Doubtful Sound to the dock on Lake Manapouri was pretty uneventful.  We were a couple of tired campers, happy but very tired.  We just can't handle all the excitement the way we used to.  We left Manapouri and pushed it right through to Queenstown where we are planning to stay for three nights.  It was a pretty special couple of days.