From Queenstown we continued heading south towards Te Anua. Chosen for it’s proximity to Milford Sound and Manapouri for Doubtful Sound. Te Anua was a good choice to stay and we based ourselves here for two nights. It ’s a lovely quiet, well maintained town with lots of activities and a nice range of shops, bars and restaurants.When booking the trip we had to choose between an overnight cruise on Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound, after much deliberation we opted for Doubtful Sound.
We set off to drive to Milford Sound, which was a 148 mile round trip and takes around four hours return without any stops. However it is impossible to not stop on the journey, with so many spectacular views, mirror lakes, viewpoints and glacial valleys. One of our favourite stops was Monkey Creek, known for it’s clear water, mountain views and cheeky Kea Parrots. We encountered a close up with the Keas and they are very bold and beg for food, actually tapping on the vehicle windows. Feeding them is discouraged as they become dependent on humans and lose the ability to find food for themselves. We had prepared ourselves for a long wait at the tunnel that cuts through the mountain on the final descent to Milford, it’s single carriageway and on busy days the wait can be up to twenty minutes. When we joined the queue of four or five vehicles, we only had a three minute wait. From here it was a short drive down to Milford. We had considered an afternoon cruise but after the stunning drive down and knowing we were off to Doubtful the next day, we opted to take a walk around the foreshore and a quick peek at the smallest “airport’ we’ve ever seen. On the return journey, we stopped at another couple of viewpoints we had missed on the way down! All in all a long but worthwhile drive.
We woke up the next morning to wind speeds of 110kph, torrential downpours and poor visibility. Yes it was the day we were travelling to Doubtful Sound for our overnight trip on the Fiordland Navigator. We’d selected Doubtful as it is remote! To reach the harbour where the Navigator sails from, involved a forty five minute catamaran trip across Lake Manapouri, then another forty five minute coach trip to Deep Harbour. Eventually we boarded the boat and after a quick safety briefing and welcome, we were on our way. We sailed along the sound to the Tasman sea and were lucky enough to see the New Zealand Fur Seals basking on the rocks. The weather had eased off a little but it was still choppy, we then headed back towards the Fiords to calmer waters. Against the odds, the crew gave permission for the passengers to either kayak or take a tender boat ride out on the fiord to explore. We both (crazily) opted to kayak, it was a guided tour led by a member of the crew. It poured it down and don’t think we could have been any wetter if we’d have fallen in! M took the waterproof cover for the phone, so we could take photo’s of the proceedings. It was a long fifty minutes, but when setting off back to the boat it seemed to get further away with every stroke. Eventually we were all safely back on board. Not content with that G, along with a couple we had met earlier decided to take a “dip” in the water. Stripped off to their swimmers, in they went. M was the official photographer from the sidelines and chose not to partake in such madness. A buffet dinner was served a little while later and to our absolute delight it consisted of roast dinner. We were in our element for sure. After dinner, with a glass of wine in our hand, we went to the presentation given by the resident nature expert on all things relating to the sound and surrounds. Last orders at the bar were 10pm, so we fell in to bed, exhausted but excited about the day we’d just experienced.
Anchors up at 6.30am and after a nice breakfast buffet, we explored the different arms/areas of the sound for the next four hours. The weather was changeable and all the rain had created a lot of temporary waterfalls, which were spectacular. All too soon we were back at Deep Sound for the return journey to Manapouri. An absolutely fantastic, once in a lifetime trip that had to be experienced to be believed. We are both fairly sure that nothing else can top the two Sounds – Milford and Doubtful.
