Sunday 10 February

Te Anau
Well, if I thought yesterdays trip was good I don't know what I can say about today's. We had decided before we came to Te Anau the real purpose was to go to Doubtful Sound, but once here we succumbed to all the hype and decided that we would have to visit Milford Sound because it was reckoned to be a must on any NZ trip. So we did and we were not disappointed (see yesterday's blog), however thank goodness we didn't do the trip to Doubtful Sound first, otherwise it would have been a real anticlimax.
We started off this morning with a short coach ride from Te Anau to Manapouri, where we took a boat trip across Manapouri Lake. It was overcast and drizzling with rain, visibility was terrible. At the other side of the lake we took another coach ride up and over the mountains through the Wilmot Pass, dropping down to the head of the fiord called Doubtful Sound. Here we got on another boat and started the journey down the fiord towards the Tasman Sea. Compared to all the tourism of Milford it was along time before we even saw another craft. The weather kept changing, with occasional bursts of sunshine through the heavy cloud cover, lighting up the mountains at the sides of the fiord. Doubtful is a much larger fiord than Milford, with several side branches, a much more majestic feature. Too many 'muchs' I think, but there can't be enough. We saw dolphins, fur seals, sheer waters, and white-breasted terns. It was a wonderful trip up the fiord, down one of the branches, as far as the entrance at The Tasman Sea and back. The entrance is narrow, the name 'Doubtful' Sound is from an entry in Captain Cook's journal after he decided it was too much of a risk to sail through it. He described it as a doubtful harbour as he feared that even if he managed to sail into it he would have great difficulty getting out again against the prevailing westerlies.
The next part of the trip was a visit to The Manapouri Hydro-Electric Power Station. It is 176 metres underground, inside a mountain. Water is taken from Lake Manapouri, dropping through shafts to drive seven turbines, and then exiting into the head of Doubtful Sound at sea level. In the coach we drove two kilometres down a tunnel in a spiral, dropping lower and lower. Finally we left the coach and went inside the power station to a viewing area. It was like something from a science fiction film, an enormous space with bright blue funnel like structures it in. They are the turbines. It produces enough electricity to power all of the South Island. It was an amazing experience, and I was so proud of myself for going so far underground when I don't even like putting my head in a bucket.
The trip back across Lake Manapouri was a fitting climax to a wonderful day, the sun came out, the rain topped, the clouds lifted and we were able to enjoy the fantastic scenery.
So ends our time in Te Anau. The three days have passed very quickly, we are very pleased we came. The sandflies didn't materialise. So far we have not had any meaningful rain. However there is a Severe Weather Warning for torrential rain in Fiordland and South land tomorrow. We are leaving Fiordland and going to South land.