We left the very comfortable Dunluce B&B and Wendy and Roger McQuillan around 8:30 am for our 20 minute drive to Lake Manapouri.
Just as we were pulling out of the driveway, Roger pointed out the beautiful rainbow. It arched all the way across the fields. This was a good sign that the weather might improve.
To reach Doubtful Sound for our overnight aboard the TUTOKO II we took a 45 minute ferry ride from Manapouri Wharf across Lake Manapouri Manapouri is a beautiful lake originally fed by twenty glaciers. The word Manapouri is a Maori word meaning many islands. At the end of the lake we disembarked at the Manapouri Power Station Visitor's Center.
It is an underground hydroelectric power station on the western arm of Lake Manapouri in Fiordland National Park which we had been in the last several days hiking. It is the largest hydroelectric power facility in New Zealand and supplies 14% of New Zealand’s power. The facility is noted for the controversy and environmental protests by the Save Manapouri Campaign against the raising the level of Lake Manapouri 30 feet to increase the water throughput of the facility in order to increase the amount of electricity generated. This protest galvanized New Zealanders and was one of the foundations of the New Zealand environmental movement. Completed in 1971, Manapouri utilizes the 750 foot drop between the western arm of Lake Manapouri and the Deep Cove branch of the Doubtful Sound 6 miles away to generate electricity.
We were met at the power station by Richard Abernethy for the 22 Km mountain van ride over the Wilmot Pass down to Doubtful Sound to board the TUTOKI II. We didn’t know at the time that Richard, nicknamed “Abbo”, was not only our van driver but was also the captain of the vessel and the owner of the company.
The TUTOKI II is a 66 foot motor yacht named after Maori Chief Tutoki who reigned in the area in the 1860’s.
Along with 3 other guests, we were welcomed aboard by friendly crew of two, Dave and Alex, with a glass of bubbly Champaign. Then we immediately cast off from the dock to discover the many jewels Doubtful Sound had to offer.
Accompanying us on the small boat was Emma, a young veterinary student from Australia and two Brazilian sisters, Anna and Ines. Ines, a fashion designer, was studying English in a school in Nelson, NZ and Anna was a PhD Marine Biology student in Brazil with a specialty in stingrays.
We were underway about noon and saw breathe-taking vistas rising steeply from the depths of the fjords to the summits high above and numerous waterfalls.
We passed Pamona Island which over a period of seven years has been cleared of predators such as stotes and possum and is now a sanctuary for endangered native birds.
We made our way to the opening of the sound to the Tasman Sea where we spotted a large seal colony sunning on the rocks.
After cruising for several hours, Captain Abbo pulled the boat up close to the shore, put on his 7 mm dive suit and dive gear and plunged off the back of the boat looking for lobster.
Dave took over the helm and kept the boat in position and in no more than 20 minutes Captain Abbo surfaced with 11 Red Spiny lobsters. New Zealand lobsters are similar to what we have in Florida but have red legs rather than yellow and a rougher shell.
Afterwards we were all given fishing rods to catch the rest of our dinner. Fortunately, dinner wasn't left up to my fishing skills. I caught three Wrasse that are considered junk fish and were quickly turned into fish bait.
The others caught the favored blue cod which actually is not a cod but a trout!
With fish and lobster, we had all we needed. Dave and Captain Abbo cooked up a delicious seafood dinner.
All during dinner, Captain Abbo entertained us with stories, his challenges in the tourism industry, his own history and some facts about New Zealand.
Like the Blue Cod which is not actually a cod but a trout, we learned that Doubtful Sound isn’t a “Sound” at all, nor is Millford Sound or the many other NZ “Sounds” found in Fiordland.
Doubtful Sound is a “Fjord.” Fjords are formed depressions near the sea, which have been scoured out by glaciers. Sounds, on the other hand, are formed from running liquid water.
Fiordland is a geographic region of New Zealand that is situated on the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western-most third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes and its ocean-flooded, steep western valleys. The name "Fiordland" comes from a variant spelling of the Scandinavian word for this type of steep valley, "fjord".
Situated within Fiordland are Browne Falls and Sutherland Falls, which rank among the tallest waterfalls in the world and New Zealand's three deepest lakes, Lake Hauroko, Lake Manapouri, and Lake Te Anau. This part of New Zealand has a very wet climate, receiving 20-30 feet of rainfall per year.
Fiordland has never had any significant permanent population. Even the Maori only visited temporarily for hunting, fishing and to collect the precious stone Pounamu (New Zealand jade) from Anita Bay and the mouth of Milford Sound
After dinner everyone retired to their cabins.
Not surprising, it rained all night but we were tucked into a cove that offered protection from the winds. During the night, we could hear wind, rain and waterfalls.
The next morning we all gathered for a quick breakfast.
We headed back to our starting point passing more beautiful vistas and more waterfalls before docking.
Captain Abbo once again took the "helm" of the van and drove us back over Wilmott pass where we met the ferry to take us back across Lake Manapouri.
After our good-byes, we picked up our rental car and made the 2 hour drive to Queenstown, our home for the next five days.
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