Day 29 Doubtful Sound part 1

Jan 29
Doubtful sound or Milford Sound? We had been posing this question to people as we travelled through  New Zealand  as we knew we probably  would only have time to do one. Fiordland is one of the must do places in South Island and the natural jump off place for either is Te Anua. Everyone we had spoken to had recommended  Doubtful  Sound. It's the longer one of the two and it's best done as an overnight trip. There are several options, each one involves getting to lake Manapouri (16 minutes from Te Anua) taking a 45 minute trip across the lake, then a bus journey with the operator to where 
the boat is moored to explore Doubtful Sound. The biggest operator is Real Journeys who take 70 people on their boat and go midday to midday. They were fully booked for at least a week around the dates we were in the area for so weren't  possible anyway. There are kayaking tours where you camp overnight; kayaks are great for getting in nooks and crannies and close up to things but they can't  travel very fast so only cover a small part of the sound. Our Rough Guide had recommended  Deep Cove Charters who only take a maximum of 12 people on their boat "Sea Finn" with two crew. We were very, very lucky, there was a vacancy on the day we wanted to go. They also cover the whole of the sound including all three of the arms. We'd  snapped it up in Dunedin. This is the most expensive thing we had gone for and it blew our budget completely but we reckoned it was worth it.
This is a longer trip than Real Journeys as we caught the 10 am ferry across Lake Manopouri rather than the midday one. Diane  greeted us on the dock side and showed us where the rest of the group were sitting, there were 9 of us in 5 cabins. It should have been full but a family with children had booked and Diane had had to cancel their trip as the boat is not suitable for young children. This was clearly stated on the web page!
We had a couple from Bristol where the husband was 60, a couple in their 20s also from UK but working as lodge hosts up near Milford, (they commuted by helicopter and boat to get to the lodge where they worked as it was a remote one for walkers), another younger couple from Switzerland, an Indian guy who had been working in Manapouri for the last 4 years, and us.

 Upper deck travelling across Lake Manoupouri

Looking back across the lake

The 10am trip across Manapouri lake was just for people staying overnight on Doubtful Sound and there was lots of space. We were given an excellent commentary about the lake. hills, walks and history  by the skipper as we crossed. Free tea and coffee was available. There's a huge underground power station (hydro electric) on the other side which can be toured and a visitor centre with toilets and lots of information on the area.

Power station, most of it is underground

Diane had  told us our mini bus would be waiting on the other side with Chris who would be looking after us while on Doubtful Sound. He loaded our bags into the back and apologised profusely. A previous passenger had dropped fish in the bus and although Chris had washed it out, something had got underneath the floorboards and he couldn't get rid of the fishy smell.
On our 45 minute drive to Deep Cove where the Sea Finn was moored Chris told us lots about the road, how it was made, the hills we were driving through and the hydro electric plant which he had helped build. He stopped a couple of times to show us view points and let us get out and take photos.

Stopping to see a waterfall

The Sounds are at their best after rain as they are renowned for their waterfalls and there had been no rain for a while so the rivers we crossed were trickles where after heavy rain they would often flood over the top of the fords our minibus was using making access to the Sound tricky or impossible.
We were shown onto the Sea Finns main deck, lots of windows, comfortable seating arranged around two tables, a compact kitchen area and the wheel area where Chris skippered the boat from. Travis, the other crew member was already busy in the kitchen sorting out lunch and Chris showed us our compact cabins below.
We set out into the Sound with Chris continuing to explain what we were seeing, events that had happened or creatures that lived there. He has a wealth of knowledge and he made the trip really interesting.

On the top deck

Moving quite fast here!

Travis served up crayfish for lunch which they had caught the day before, these are really expensive in restaurants generally $45 for half a tail and $60 for a full and we had a big platter of them sitting there. It gave us all time to keep getting to know each other while we ate.

James, Harsh and Jono

Crayfish and salad lunch (vegie alternatives were available!)

Chris stopped the Sea Finn to show us different things as we motored slowly through all three of the different arms of the sound as well as the main channel. He showed us white orchids growing on a tree and waterfalls.

Manoeuvring  into the bushes to see orchids

More waterfalls, we got close enough to feel the water even at this low output

This rock came down one night and stopped just here. It's about 3 000 tonnes. Just waiting for it to move the rest of the way....

We stopped and put out the kayaks and puttered slowly round one of the arms. Harsh, the Indian guy, hadn't  kayaked before and found it difficult at first, unable to go in a straight line or move forward but with a bit of tuition he was soon moving confidently.

Easy entry and exit off back of the boat

Jono, Tom and I swam after kayaking. The water was amazingly warm. Chris said its often 28 deg at this time of the year and its fresh water not salt as it's come from the hydroelectric plant. The salt water is about 2m down. Jono and Tom both dived down to find the salt water, it's a different colour and a lot colder.

Lovely, warm water

The ship had hot showers in the compact bathrooms, one for men, one for women accessed from the deck at the back of the boat. We could also lookout from the very top of the boat or from the prow area. As we moved through the Sound Chris found bottle-nosed dolphins and they came and played around the bow next to us. Chris then turned the boat around and told us to watch from the rear deck, as he motored quickly away the dolphins came and jumped over the wake the boat was making. It was really good watching them.

Jumping dolphin over wake

Travis had put snacks out on the table for anyone feeling peckish. Sweet biscuits and then cheese biscuits with chopped tomatoes, cheeses and some sort of dip. Delicious.
We pulled into see the small plaque at Marcaciones Point which commemorates a Spanish landing and mapping in 1793. Chris obligingly manoeuvred the boat bow really close to the rock to give us a chance to crane our necks to read the plaque and snap a picture. The charts of Doubtful Sound produced were so accurate that they were used right up to the 1970s by local fishermen.

Chris took us out right to the Tasman Sea. By now we had a few Albatross following us, massive wings outstretched and flying low over the water next to the boat. We stopped to fish. Anyone who wanted to was given a line, anything caught was going to be for tea. Blue cod started to come in along with a barracuda, rock perch and a shark (although this was because the shark had eaten the cod on the end of a fishing line as it was being reeled in). Chris altered the position of the boat away from the sandy ground so we wouldn't catch any more sharks!

 Meanwhile our albatross friends had grown in number, there were now 8 of them around the boat, drawn in by the fishing and ready to argue over the scraps thrown to them. They have a strange call.

Albatross

We then went to look at the seals basking on the rocks near the entrance to the sound. 90 000 seals a year had been killed and removed in the 19th century from Doubtful Sound and after 3 years hardly any were left. They became a very early species to be protected back in 1875. We watched small cubs playing on the rocks and adults basking or moving in and out of the water.

A bit further down the coast Travis and Chris pulled up their crayfish crate, threw back the little ones and put the others in a box for tomorrows lunch.

Crayfish

Where the sound meets the sea

Jono at the helm

Travis turned the fresh cod into dinner along with wild fiordland deer, roast potatoes and vegetables. It was BYO wine and beer and everyone had come with their own favourite. We all sat around the biggest table and the conversation flowed.

Sunset

Later that evening Chris showed us the Fiordland film which plays everyday at the cinema in Te Anua for $10 a person. He was able to explain the scenes and where they were and add extra bits of information in.
As the sun set he told us we would be anchoring up for the night and the boat would move again at 6:15am. No one would be woken up but "if you snooze, you lose". Breakfast would be on the table from 6:15 and stay there until 8:15 so anyone who wanted to eat needed to be up by then. He asked us to put all our stuff off the beds in the morning so Travis could strip and remake them before we docked.