fiordland

We've spent the last few days in Te Anau, nestled in the Fiordland National Park, a World Heritage Area. It has been outstanding. On Wednesday we climbed Key Summit, a moderate peak surrounded by impressive cousins. It is the staging point for the southern end of the Routeburn Track, one of the southern “Great Walks”, and also has the distinction of being a three-way watershed, with water running off into five rivers that run out variously to the South Island's east, south and west coasts.

This part of the country has 200 rain days a year, with an annual rainfall of 8m. They have had times where 80cm of rain has been recorded in a 24 hour period. We were therefore prepared—mentally and in terms of clothing—for a partially submerged holiday. But the weather has been glorious. From Key Summit we had undiminished views of Lake Marion to the west and a panorama of mountains. Gorgeous... After our three hour hike we drove the spectacular road out to the now somewhat over-touristed (by New Zealand standards) Milford Sound. It was beautiful, but the coachloads of tourists and regular sound of helicopters overhead suggested we'd made the right choice for our following day's activity...

Which was to take a day-long boat trip out on the other fiord, Doubtful Sound, which is much less accessible. An initial 50-minute boat trip over Lake Manapouri leads to a major hydroelectric power station accessible only by the lake. In order to build this station a single road was built, over the hills to the remote Deep Cove, the inland extremity of Doubtful Sound. The two companies that run these trips have buses, brought in by barge, whose sole function in life is to shuttle passengers between these two spots. There is, after all, no where else to go. From Deep Cove we boarded another vessel with and the 12 other passengers and our guide, who piloted both boats and drove the bus.

Doubtful Sound is breathtaking... steep bush-clad hillfaces and sheer cliffs drop into deep waters. We cruised beneath bright blue skies, seeing pods of both Dusky and Bottlenose Dolphins as well as Blue Penguins, Fur Seals, and Sooty Shearwaters (Mutton Birds). The weather was so calm that even in our small boat we were able to travel right out to the open Tasman Sea, turning back to see why Captain Cook considered the rock-strewn entrance of the Sound too “Doubtful” to enter. We had a wonderful day and I am so glad to have finally seen this remote part of New Zealand. What a great country!