Day 11. Doubtful Sound

After returning on February 10 from my trip to the southern coast of the South Island, I started trying to book tickets for a Doubtful Sound cruise departing early on the 11th from the port in Manapouri, but unfortunately discovered that everything was sold out. I could not find any alternative destination for that day, and it was the last day on which I could still make it to Doubtful Sound. So I decided to try my luck right at the ticket office in the port: http://www.realjourneys.co.nz/. When I got there, I found long queues. After standing in one of them, I asked if I could buy a ticket for the current cruise. They told me there were no tickets left, but that I could wait in the hall until boarding was finished, and then they would check whether anyone had failed to show up or canceled. In the end I got lucky, and at the very last moment they found that there were still tickets available. I paid for one, and they put me on the departing boat, which was apparently waiting just for me :-)

The trip took place in three stages. First we had to cross Lake Manapouri to the hydroelectric station, which can be toured in certain months, but in February it was closed, so we were taken by bus to Doubtful Sound instead. There we boarded a ship and cruised through the sound to the open ocean and back.

Along the way we passed several beautiful islands, one of which had a hotel for wealthy hermits.

We entered one of the fjords, the boat stopped, and everyone was asked to stay silent for two minutes. I missed part of what the guide said and did not understand what exactly we were supposed to hear in the silence. I suppose we were meant to listen to the sounds of the fjord.

Then we were taken back to land, and by bus we returned to Lake Manapouri. The bus often stopped at points of interest and let passengers off so we could look around and take photos. After that, another boat was waiting to take us back to the starting point of the trip. By the way, there was free tea and coffee on board, as much as you wanted, but the food seemed to be sold only for cash, so bring some just in case, because bank cards may not work. In general, the eight-hour trip goes by so quickly that you hardly even get hungry.

One unusual thing I noticed was that as soon as travelers boarded the ship, they immediately rushed to grab seats and then sat there as if glued to them, even when there was strong wind outside. I had no desire to sit still. I walked around the ship looking for good angles for photos. I had already done enough sitting on the long flight from New Zealand back to Moscow.

Later that same day, after the Doubtful Sound cruise, I drove part of the road toward Milford Sound. About halfway there I stopped to photograph some places that I had been unable to capture earlier because of the weather or because the sun was in the wrong position. After that I returned to the hotel to prepare for the 500 km drive to Franz Josef Glacier, which you can read about in my next post.