NZ-Te Anau and Doubtful Sound

In Queenstown, when we went to confirm our reservation for the Milford Sound boat trip, we decided to go to Doubtful Sound instead of Milford Sound. Why? Well, we learned there was a 2-hour drive to Milford, then 2 hours on a boat, followed by another 2 hours drive back to Te Anau. Sounded kinda dull spending all that time driving, and sharing the sound with a bunch of other tour bouts, so we decided on the less touristy Doubtful Sound instead. To get to Doubtful Sound, it is a short bus ride to Lake Manapouri, where we take a boat ride to the power station at the other end of the lake. Then we take a short bus over Wilmot Pass for some views of Doubtful Sound before taking the boat ride through the sound.

Well, this tour did not disappoint. The boat ride across Manapouri was pretty, and Doubtful Sound was even more scenic - there were dramatic mountains all over the place. I think we were starting to get used to the massive granite peaks all around us; at the end of the day I was tired of looking up at huge mountains next to our boat. But to see forests of fern trees and waterfalls right by the sea was incredible.

We learned there is amazing sea life to see. Apparently the fresh water coming down the mountains absorbs a lot of plant tannins, so the few feet of fresh water that constantly sits on top of the sea water in the fjord blocks almost all the sunlight, and deep water coral and fish live just a few meters below the surface. Well we didn't go to any underwater observatory or scuba dive, but we saw the videos and now we want to do some cold-water diving!