Doubtful Sound Day 165 2/03/2015

It rained heavily for most of the night and by morning the water level in the river had certainly risen quite a few meters; the dry stream outside was now a very lively, babbling brook! We got up at 7am packed our sleeping backs, put down our very wet tent and had a very uninspiring re hydrated porridge breakfast. The plan for the day was to paddle out of Hall Arm, across the main fiord and out and round Elizabeth Island, stopping off for refreshments before paddling back to Deep Cove. Keith thought it was highly amusing that we'd both conceded and put our midgie nets on until we were back out on the water. The tide was coming in and we only had to carry the kayaks a short distance to get them on the water. We set off paddling down Hall Arm and the water was a bit choppy as we headed out. As we got closer to the main fiord we could see a few white horses and moved to follow the shoreline to gain protection from any wind that was coming our way. We continued to paddle out through increasingly growing waves to the narrowest point across to the Katherine Island, a 3km peice of land just off the far bank. We knew it was starting to get a bit more serious as Keith dropped his rudder so he wouldn't have to rely on his right paddle all the time! We started to paddle out into the sea straight into the wind and incoming tide. At times is was so strong we couldn't move despite best efforts, even with the rudder full on and paddling on one side only with 45 knot winds we were being blown sideways on to the waves at times. Diane was being constantly soaked with the spray and we both had to keep leaning into the wind with our head down to avoid capsizing. The kayaks were very stable and with Keith's guidance we both felt comfortable albeit certainly in more adverse conditions than we've been in before (Keith told us later that it was probably grade 3 (out of 5 grades) sea kayaking). After what felt like an eternity getting not very far we reverted to plan B which was to turn the kayaks 180 degrees and head towards Rolla Island where hopefully we'd get some shelter. The paddling became much easier with the wind behind us but we needed to stay alert to gusts and to ride the high waves. We eventually made it across and paddled to the sheltered shore line for a much needed rest. One of the local day boat skippers sailed over to check we were OK and to get a view on conditions - rough seas and strong wind!  From here we paddled across to the main shoreline and hugged the coast around until we were out of the full force of the wind. As we neared Deep Cove the waters became much calmer and we had a look around the water cascades before heading back to shore. Whilst disappointed not to have gone to Elizabeth Island we were both a bit relieved to be back on dry land. An another overnight kayak group were just about to set off as we unpacked and carried gear and kayaks back up to the shed where we quickly got changed into dry clothes. There's a small YHA/children's education centre next door which we took advantage of to make a hot drink and have something to eat. We'd not been there for long when Keith got a call asking him to go and help the group who'd not long set off and were now heading back due to the adverse conditions. We were glad we'd decided to go out yesterday and managed to get to the overnight camp. The Oz guy from the boat yesterday was at the hostel and we chatted to him for a while whilst we waited for the bus to take us back to West Arm. On the way back over Wilmot Pass, Keith was keen to have a look at the conditions of one of the tributary rivers as a potential option for his day off tomorrow (apparently he regularly paddles grade 4 / 5 white water). It was certainly white with lots of rapids. Back at West Arm we joined the day trippers on the boat back over to Manapouri but did get a special mention from the skipper. A short ride and we were back at our campsite where we said our thanks and goodbyes to Keith. We sorted out our gear, showered, applied copious quantities of bite cream (despite the midgie nets we were covered in bites) and then headed in to town for a well deserved pizza, washed down with a nice bottle of Italian red, at the local Italian restaurant. We sat next to a couple on holiday from Sussex who expressed amazement that Diane managed to consume her pizza (they were rather large and delicious). We wandered back to the campsite, exhausted but exhilarated by our experience and headed off to bed, only to be woken by a German couple who insisted that we were parked in their space. Even if we were (and we weren't) there were ample other spaces that they could have parked in and really no need to wake us up!

Enjoying the water cascades 

Keith - our guide for our two day adventure