After a good night's rest at Kinloch Lodge, we hopped in our car and retraced out route back to Queenstown, and continued on to another outdoor hub - Te Anau. The fairly lengthy drive was nothing spectacular, but a good opportunity to solidify Tom's Kiwi driving skills. Once in Te Anau, we contemplated tackling the round trip to Milford Sound, since the weather was good, and expected to be worse the next day. Ultimately, we decided it was too much driving for one day, and instead opted for a short tramp along the Keplar Track (another of the Great Tracks). Again, nothing super spectacular, but the fern-filled forests and the beach views across Lake Manapouri were nice.
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| Fern-floored forest |
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| Lake Manapouri from Shallow Bay |
We awoke the following day to not-so-great weather, but proceeded with our planned day-trip to Milford Sound, along the west coast of the island. The weather didn't improve, but instead deteriorated to steady rain that varied from modest to heavy. Even so, the drive was absolutely mind blowing! We didn't get the crisp mountain views, but instead we got the misty cloaking of the mountains, huge rock faces with countless waterfalls cascading down, and dripping rain forests. It all seemed to be as it should be, since this side of the mountains bears the brunt of the storms coming off the ocean from the west. And the Homer Tunnel was quite amazing, too. It's about 1.2 km long, and was hand-carved through the mountainside. The interior surface is raw, uneven rock. Every once in a while, there are short segments of "roofs" inside the tunnel, presumably to keep water flowing within the rocks from dropping on the cars. Very cool! We had a short walks at Milford Sound proper and The Chasm ... a deep narrow section of the river with water just shooting through it!
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| Waterfalls near Homer Tunnel (note road and car in bottom center). |
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| Milford Sound |
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| Cloudy ridges, Milford Sound |
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| Karen and tree fern |
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| Paradise Duck |
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| The Chasm |
For our next excursion, we splurged on an overnight boat trip on the much-less-crowded Doubtful Sound. The journey to our boat involved a bus ride, a water taxi across Lake Manapouri (beautiful), and a van ride down to Doubtful Sound. We had a nice group of 11 people (plus captain and 1st mate). The scenery was beautiful ... 1000 m (3000') peaks dropping quickly into the water. The first day was crystal clear, and we motored out to the ocean, where we did some bottom fishing for blue cod, and watched some seals lounge on the rocks. We also picked up some of the traps they had set for crayfish (really, they looked like lobsters, but without claws). The next morning we motored down some narrow arms that were cloaked in low clouds. Pretty magical!
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| Lake Manapuri |
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| Doubtful Sound |
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| Mollymawk (medium-sized Albatross ... but pretty damn big) |
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| Captured Crayfish |
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| Late afternoon light, Doubtful Sound |
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| Evening light, Gaer Arm, Doubtful Sound |
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| Still morning waters, Crooked Arm, Doubtful Sound |
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| Our Boat (courtesy of doubtfulsound.com) |
Activities
- Short hike on Keplar Track (Rainbow Reach to Shallow Bay)
- Scenic drive to Milford Sound, including short walks at The Chasm and the Foreshore Track.
- Overnight boat trip to Doubtful Sound, including water taxi across Lake Manapouri, a little fishing, and a little kayaking.
5-Star Moments
- Waterfalls along the drive to Milford Sound!
- Homer Tunnel
- Cloud-shrouded Milford Sound
- Morning calm in Crooked Arm of Doubtful Sound
Random Scenes
- After hiking to Shallow Bay, finding a couple of boats worth of partying locals!
- Joan, a spry 77 year-old Brit, telling tales of traveling the world alone with a well-planned (and documented) itinerary. Inspiring! Not so inspiring was the young New York entrepreneur who voted for Trump.
- The captain, with 3 or 4 quick motions, removing the tails of the cray fish and flinging the rest overboard.
Random Questions
- Are these trees or ferns? Answer: yes!
Tom's Daily Stress Points
- Will the weather cooperate for our boat trip? (stress level = medium)
Sleeps
- Te Anau: Bella Vista Motel (modern, very comfy)
- Doubtful Sound: Double birth on board MV Southern Secret (Fiordland Cruises)
Noteable Eats
- Te Anau: Miles Better Pies (excellent Lamb and Mint pies), Sandfly Cafe (breakfast), Paradiso Pizza (good)
- Doubtful Sound: Very good meals, including fresh blue cod and crayfish!
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