Costs:

The Doubtful Sound tour we booked the day before for was organised by Fiordland Explorer Charters and it was $75 cheaper than Real Journey's same tour (this might be a winter only offer). This morning we were picked up from the hostel, a common occurrence around here, and started the day with a 20 minutes bus drive to Lake Manapouri. Apart from Klaus, Mark and I, there were another 12 passengers with us on the bus, most of which were travelling in couples. The first stage of the journey to the sound was crossing Lake Manapouri in a small boat squashed like illegal immigrants crossing to the dot. At least it wasn't a rubber dingy and I was the darkest one on board.

After crossing the lake we had another drive by bus and on our way we stopped at the underground Manapouri hydroelectric power station. This power station generates electricity by the flow of the water from Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri. The water from the lakes falls 178 metres through the station and then flows out through the mountains to Deep Cove. The guide explained that 500 tonnes of water pass through the station at any given time, enough to fill the machine hall (in the picture) every 60 seconds. The reason the power station was built here was because of the volume of water it has access to, and its proximity to sea level.

After the interesting brief detour to the power station we arrived at Doubtful Sound. Unlike Milford Sound where the wharf was full of people this one only hosted our boat. With only 15 people on board the chatter was limited to small groups and the driver/guide was friendly and unobtrusive. It didn't take long to start appreciating the beauty of the sound. The sheer wilderness of the place. The huge mountain faces and the sparsely snow capped mountains in the distance. Doubtful Sound is 10 times bigger than Milford although it is not as popular probably because it isn't as accessible.

During the trip we alternated between staying outside enjoying the scenery in the cold wind and staying inside enjoying the complementary tea and coffee looking out of the tiny windows. Actually, the decision wasn't difficult to take. We were inside when we were speeding or it was raining, and outside the rest of the time.

The Sounds are known to contain an abundance of wildlife. In fact in other journals I read that dolphins and fur seals were a common sighting, but what I really wanted to see was the Fiordland Crested Penguin. I knew the possibility of even getting a remote glance of this elusive, almost extinct penguin was a wild dream so I wasn't expecting anything. So you can imagine my reaction when I heard the word penguin over the mumbling in the cabin. I threw open the door and abruptly made it on the deck with a complete disregard towards the rest of the people. There they where, the mighty penguins. The Fiordland Crested Penguins. I couldn't believe my eyes (or rather binoculars) and fumbled for the camera. I tried locating the tiny spot and zooming on it balancing on the rocking boat. My first attempts where blurry and the rest weren't great but at least I've got proof and a memorial reminder of what the Fiordland Crested Penguin looks like. This penguin is similar to the yellow eyed penguin that lives in the Dunedin area, but it has a crest apart from the yellow band on the eyes.

As regards the rest of the wildlife we spotted some fur seals, but they were far enough not to bother taking a photo. I didn't really mind because I already had a close encounter with the fur seals in Kaikoura. The dolphins were more stubborn and I think they must have had a particular dislike for my beard because they didn't even appear this time around. I missed them in Kaikoura and in 3 trips to the sounds. This must be something personal considering they are commonly seen here. I contented myself with the penguin sighting though which was the most memorable event of the whole trip

On this trip I learned about tree avalanches. The trees on the mountains aren't rooted on firm ground because the soil is thin and most of the roots are entangled in moss. This makes them prone to fall over because if a tree on top falls it drags the rest of the trees that are attached to it through the carpet of moss which entwines the roots of the trees together, forming a tree avalanche. The effect of these avalanches is visible on the mountain faces with patches of bare mountains rock in between the dense forest of trees.

The visibility in Doubtful sound was much better than the previous trip to Milford. The day started out with a clear sky which later started turning gray, but it was still good enough to snap pictures. The wind was cold and the rush of the water kept me reaching out for the jacket each time I went out on the deck. But all in all I couldn't complain.

Both Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound are incorrectly named, because they are in fact Fiords not sounds. The difference is that a Fiord is carved out of glacier activity and a Sound is carved out of the gentler effect of water thus making the shape of the mountain valley a more rounded U rather than the V shape of the typical Fiord. The word sound however is a good mnemonic to remind you of the real sound of the fiord. At a certain point the driver turned off the engine and told us to appreciate the sound of the Fiord. The sound of the silence, the lapping water against the boat and the gush of water from the waterfalls form a symphony that enriches the experience of this place. I wondered how amazing it would have been to paddle these waters in a kayak without the noise of the engines, feeling at one with nature, squashed to insignificance by the massiveness of the mountains. This was the first time I regretted myself for coming in winter, where the kayaking opportunities are very few.

We arrived back in Te Anau at 6 and all the tourist offices (there were more than one in Te Anau) were closed, so we couldn't book the kayaking tour for Milford Sound the following day. Instead we planned to do the Key Summit trail, a day walk that starts from the Chasm in the Milford Road. On Wednesday, when we were going to start the trail we decided to go on the Milford Sound cruise once again since the weather was much better than the previous Monday.

As if the day wasn't packed enough with the Doubtful sound cruise, at 6.30 Klaus and I went to the Glow worm caves. To get to the caves we went on a short boat trip. Here while chatting with Klaus I learned about the Thermal Wonderland of Rotorua, one of the best advices of the holiday.

After a brief video introduction at the reception centre we moved to see the caves and the glow worms. These caves are still very young. The guide showed us a stalagmite that was smaller than my little finger. I couldn't restrain my giggle and for once I felt proud about the caves there are in 'the dot'.

When we arrived at the end of the cave walk we were divided in two groups to start the actual glow worm tour. We boarded a small wooden raft and made it towards the back of the cave. The trip was in pitch darkness and in complete silence to allow us to see the glow worms better.

At the end of the cave we came to the most densely populated area of glow worms and in the dark the ceiling of the cave turned into a starlit sky. When I started to focus on patches of glow worms the fluorescent dots started blurring and the image turned quite hazy. Some Pink Floyd music would have ideal to complete this psychedelic experience.

Tonight after almost two weeks on holiday I decided to cook something properly. From the supermarket stop I got a container of fresh New Zealand muscles, and cooked the muscles in a Thai sauce with coconut milk and some jasmine rice. I thought the tamarind taste in the sauce was a bit too concentrated but Klaus thought it was perfect.

View the complete Doubtful Sound Gallery here

Coming next: Invercargill