Doubtful Sound

The southernmost part of the west coast of the South Island is known as Fiordland, as the coast line is dotted with fiords which were shaped by glaciers during the ice ages. One of the top items for a New Zealand trip is to make a boat trip in one of these fiords. The most popluar, and the most accessible, is Milford Sound, but I opted for an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound. This was an absolute highlight of the trip. The landscape is just magic and the land around the sound is entirely uninhabited.

There is an abundance of pictures below, but when I look at them, I don't think the pictures tells the full story. You simply have to be there yourself!

Going to Doubtful Sound is a little complicated. A bus picked me up in Te Anau and drove me the 20 km south to Manapouri, where I boarded a ship which took me across Lake Manapouri to the Manapouri power station, without which this cruise would not be possible at all. To wit, because of the power station, there is a road across Wilmot Pass down to the shore of Doubtful Sound, and a bus took us on this route. Finally, we boardad the Fiordland Navigator, which saied the full length of the fiord, and then set anchor in an arm of the fiord to spend the night there. On the day we sailed, it was sunny, but the next day it was overcast. This made the trip even better, as we could see the water and the mountains in different light settings.

Lake Manapouri 1. Lake Manapouri	2. 0030_IMG_0612
3. 0050_IMG_0613	4. 0070_IMG_0614
5. 0090_IMG_0615	6. Power Lines
7. 0130_IMG_0621	Across Wilmot Pass 8. Mountains
9. 0190_IMG_0625	10. Doubtful Sound
11. 0230_IMG_0627	12. 0250_IMG_0628
13. 0270_IMG_0629	14. 0290_IMG_0630
Doubtful Sound, Day One 15. We're Sailing	16. 0330_IMG_0632
17. 0350_IMG_0633	18. 0370_P1010802
19. 0390_IMG_0636	20. 0410_IMG_0637
21. 0430_IMG_0638	22. 0450_IMG_0639
23. 0470_IMG_0640	24. 0490_IMG_0642
25. 0510_IMG_0643	26. 0530_IMG_0644
27. 0550_IMG_0645	28. 0570_IMG_0646
29. Fur Seals	30. Fur Seals and Birds
31. 0650_IMG_0655	32. 0670_IMG_0656
33. 0690_IMG_0658	34. 0710_IMG_0663
35. 0730_IMG_0666	36. 0750_P1010805
37. 0770_IMG_0670	38. 0790_IMG_0672
39. 0810_IMG_0674	40. 0830_IMG_0675
41. 0850_IMG_0676	42. 0870_IMG_0677
43. Anchoring	44. 0910_IMG_0679
45. Fiordland Navigtor	46. Tree Avalanche
47. Roots	48. 1010_IMG_0689
49. 1030_IMG_0693	50. 1110_IMG_0706
51. Stray Fur Seal	52. This is My Space
53. 1150_IMG_0709	Doubtful Sound, Day Two 54. Cloudy Morning
55. 1190_IMG_0712	56. 1210_IMG_0714
57. 1230_IMG_0715	58. 1250_IMG_0716
59. 1270_IMG_0717	60. 1290_IMG_0718
61. 1310_IMG_0719	62. 1330_IMG_0720
63. 1350_IMG_0721	64. 1370_IMG_0723
65. 1390_IMG_0724	66. 1410_IMG_0725
67. 1430_IMG_0726	68. The Sound of Silence
69. 1470_IMG_0728	70. 1490_IMG_0729
71. 1510_IMG_0730	72. 1530_IMG_0731
73. 1550_IMG_0732	74. 1570_IMG_0734
75. 1590_IMG_0737	76. 1610_IMG_0739
77. 1630_IMG_0746	78. 1650_IMG_0747
79. 1670_IMG_0748	80. 1690_IMG_0749
81. 1710_IMG_0750	Lake Manapouri 82. On Our Way Home