Doubtful Sound

Champagne and Smoked Salmon on the Deck
NZ Fur Seal Colony
At the Tasman Sea
Black and White

Have no doubts, the weather was at expected at Doubtful Sound. Thank heavens we seized the impulse and went for that glorious heavenward ride last evening. The rain started as we disembarked at the dock at Lake Manapouri and didn’t let up until our return trip – diabolical. Duncan says our photos are great but they are all in black and white! Ha, ha!
Doubtful Sound by the way is so named because Captain James Cook decided to give it a miss fearing he could get into the fiord (not really a sound) but would be stranded inside because the prevailing winds don’t generally blow in the direction he would need to get out. He also gave Milford Sound a miss opting for Dusky Sound. Fiords are land extending into the sea that were pushed up by volcanic action whereas a sound is formed by river action carving into the mountains.
We enjoyed our long day in spite of the weather; we met nice retired tourists from the UK, Canada and Australia - Alice Springs and Bundaberg in Queensland. We saw a NZ Fur Seal colony, and the pilot turned off the engines to enable the boat to float soundlessly in the Sound to experience what it would have been like sailing on the Endeavour with Captain Cook, with only the sounds of the sea, wind, rain and bird albeit far fewer of them. It was another magical moment, all those who had ventured onto the deck seemed to feel that way. The pilot said he’d never had anyone melt in the rain so we had ventured out with about 1/3 of the boats’ occupants. The remaining passengers cowered inside out of the weather.
The 3 hour trip went quickly, and the bus ride back was amusing. Because we were at the end of the line for our bus, Duncan and I were divorced (the words of my Aussie seatmate). He and his wife regaled me with stories of Australia for the return trip, and it went by in no time. When I mentioned the cool weather, he said that up in Kuranda if the weather is 26C, inhabitants put on their coats! When I mentioned how friendly and welcoming the New Zealanders have been to us, the wife said she hoped the Aussies would be the same, but she couldn’t guarantee it! She said some were quite brash and her husband added, “And fat too – they eat too much of that KFC!”
We toured the Manapouri Underground Power Station – a feat of engineering – to build power turbines underground to leash the power of the waters of Lake Manapouri flowing to Deep Cove. An American firm built the road, and it took 2 years (1/1/2 years longer than anticipated) at a cost of $5(NZ) per inch!
For dinner back at our farm cottage, we enjoyed an omelette made with fresh farm eggs, Wither Hills Pinot Gris , local strawberries with fresh cream, Cloudy Bay Late Harvest Reisling and some local Whittaker’s Ghana Chocolate bar. God is good!