Tuesday & Wednesday Feb 2 - 3, 2010 – Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise

The cruise didn't leave until 12:30 so that we had lots of time to pack up and get ready. We needed to put our luggage in a locker and our perishables in a fridge at the camp ground where we were staying. They do this a lot as people take off from Te Anau for many treks or over night cruises.

We needed to get to Manapouri to start our journey. After checking in we went back to Fraser Beach to have lunch. It was very quiet with the water lapping on shore. We are quite excited about the cruise. We were hoping that there had been more rain so we could see the many waterfalls they say fall in the Sound. No such luck. In fact it was worse this time as there had been no rain for 11 days. Even the permanent falls were not as impressive as the last time. Our cruise was full. There was a Danish touring group that was on the boat.

The journey start will a boat ride across Lake Manapouri. It is renowned for its numerous islands, deserted beaches, seductive arms and clear water. Lake many of the glacial lakes this one is deep. We travel to the west arm where we disembark at the power station for a bus ride over Wilmot Pass. From the lookout you can see Doubtful Sound far below. Deep Cove is at the head of the Sound 40 km from the open sea. The day and overnight cruises start from there. After boarding we find out where are accommodations will be and with whom we will share. We had a young woman named Kathleen and a gentleman from Switzerland with us. Charles and Swiss man had the upper bunks. The ladies had the lower bunks. The quarters are quite cramped. We had fun anyway. Kathleen is German but has lived in England for a number of years. We do not know much about the Swiss man as was hardly every around.

There were muffins, coffee and tea ready for us. The muffins were made fresh that morning and were delicious. We headed out to the observation decks to see the marvellous scenery. It was very windy. The wind was being caused by the ship movement. The waters were very calm. You have a choice of activities, either kayaking or exploring in the tender craft. We choose the later as kayaking seemed too much work. After returning from the activity many of the passengers went swimming. The water was about 20°c. Some slipped in off the back, while others dove in from the deck. A great time was had by all.

We were served soup and a bun to tide us over until supper at 7:30. We continued to sail out toward the Tasman Sea. It was so calm. We were able to get close the large seal colony on Nee Islets. Seals are so much fun to watch. We got see one lone penguin that had returned from sea to moult. It was very fat. This is needed as they don't eat during moulting. They only return from the sea to nest and to moult, otherwise they at sea. We headed back in to find the place where we would anchor for the night.

Supper was a smorg with many choices. Everything was superb. Charles and I tried to go out on deck at twilight only to be driven back in by the sand flies. By 9:30 we were in bed. Unfortunately, neither of us got a good night sleep for many reasons.

Breakfast was between 7 and 8. The boat got underway at 6:45am. It was beautiful to watch the sun come up over the mountains. It was so calm there were some great reflections on the water. It was so peaceful despite the wind.

We got back to Manapouri by noon. Picked up some takeout and ate it a Fraser Beach. Back to Te Anau to pick up our stuff. We are taking the Southern Scenic Route to Riverton. The route follows a river valley all the way to the south coast. It was flat farming country. Not much to see or do.

This area of the south coast is known for surfing and scuba diving. Since school has gone back there it is not as busy. We arrived at Riverton around 4 pm. We are renting a 3 bedroom house. We have beautiful views from most of the windows. The mornings are cloudy and chilly. Once the clouds move off in the afternoon it gets quite warm. The evenings cool off. Since the house is on a hill it gets a nice breeze that cools off the house nicely for sleeping.

We were both very tired. I finally gave up at 7:30 and went to bed. Charles came to bed by 10. We had a nice wide bed tonight.