Doubtful Sound
Christine and I in front of the Doubtful Sound
In the Fjordland National Park we booked a kajak trip overnighter in the Doubtful Sound – a highlight of our world trip and something I very much looked forward to. We started with the motorboat in Manapouri where we crossed New Zealand’s sixth largest lake. Then, we drove with a bus on New Zealand’s most expensive road (relative to its length). At the fjord we equipped ourselves with our gear and got a quick introduction to our boats, dos and don’ts.
Just after it stopped to rain, our group of nine including guide Logan boarded our fibreglass boats carefully and went out to the fjord. The walls of the fjord were very steep, sometimes even overhanging. Still they were completely green and full of plants. It rains between six and eight meters a year (compared to 0.55 m in London), which is the reason for the dense vegetation. There were also a lot of waterfalls coming down the cliffs. With our kajaks we drove directly underneath those falls and tasted the freshwater from the mountains. Even though most of the water in the fjord is saltwater from the sea, there is a layer of 40 meters of freshwater on top so you can actually drink it (I tried it). We paddled for five hours on this cloudy day. The fjord was completely calm and we felt very secluded, also because there is almost no traffic on the fjord.
Our group on the fjord.
Beautiful trees everywhere.
I sat in front on the first day.
The calm fjord.
In the evening we went to our very simple campsite, which lay next to a river. We built up our tents and then I jumped into the fjord for a “shower”. The ice cold water hurt but the view was spectacular. I was all by myself on this huge fjord, which was completely deserted by now. It was pure relaxation just to stand there and watch the fjord.
Our tent – yes, it was very wet on that day.
The most annoying thing that night were the sandflies that “ate us alive”. They are terrible flies which do not sting but bite up your skin so that they can suck the blood. They leave scars instead of stitches and it really hurts. We can still see our scars after more than three weeks.
When we prepared our dinner it was clear who is smart (or lazy?): While others cut their spring onions, carrots, mushrooms and red peppers on the small chopping boards we made our pasta with ready-made sauce. We had already finished our dinner while the other ones were still fighting over the few pots and stove plates. At our dinner our guide told us how locals kill the so-called „pest“, animals that were brought to New Zealand (like possums, rabbits or rats) and which treaten the endemic wildlife. The stories were quite brutal, they seem to be very cold blooded when wiping out those little ones. Luckily, we already finished our meal.
Christine enjoying our noodles.
The next morning we got up very early so we could hit the water after we had breakfast and packed up our tents.
This was in the morning where we left the camp and went out on the fjord again.
On our second day we also paddled for five hours. It was a beautiful morning and the clouds were slowly lifting until the sun was fully out. We were able to see the surrounding mountains in all their glory. Once we were back at the boat house we unpacked our gear and eventually went on the bus on our way back to our car. The trip was unforgettable and we enjoyed almost every bit (with exception of the hungry sandflies).
The weather was fantastic on our second day.
Milford Sound
Christine in front of the boat at Milford Sound.
The day after we drove from Te Anau to Milford Sound, the famous and crowded fjord that is easy to reach by car. We had booked a boat tour for the morning and left early while it was still dark. On our boat tour we enjoyed to watch the fjord fully relaxed with no paddling. We were even very lucky and saw dolphins. They came to our boat and swam right to the front where we stood, they even splashed water on us.
The dolphin swam right next to our boat.
The second highlight of this boat trip was a waterfall, where the boat came close to shore so that the people in the front were seriously showered. Someone told us before, that you feel ten years younger if you take the shower – she was right. We are now in our mid-twenties 😁.
On our drive back to Te Anau we stopped at multiple places to marvel at the beautiful rivers, valleys, lakes and made some short hikes in the forest.
Christine on the hiking path we took in the afternoon after Milford Sound.
The local trees had huge roots.
Erst einmal weg... 