Our Great Adventure: Doubtful Sound Day 164 1/03/2015

After packing up we moved the camper van to the carpark at the campsite before being picked up by Keith, our guide for the next two days. Keith drove us to Manapouri where we loaded the gear onto the boat which was going to take us across Lake Manapouri to West Arm in Fiordland. The boat is usually packed with tourists doing day or overnight sailings on Doubtful Sound but at this time in the morning there were the three of us, one Oz gentleman and the crew. We had a personal safety briefing from the skipper before setting sail. The sunrise was lovely but we did wonder what the red sky had it store for us. The journey took c50 mins and we docked nearby the hydroelectric power station which supplies an aluminium smelter near Invercargill. Keith told us that the original plan for the power station back in 1969 would have resulted in the water level in the lake being raised by 30m. This would have meant the lakes of Manapouri and Te Anau would have merged as the biggest lake in New Zealand. It led to New Zealand's first major environmental campaign and contributed to the downfall of the government at the election (primarily because the opposition committed to oppose the plan) and it never went ahead. Once at West Arm we got a bus over Wilmot Pass to Deep Cove (population 2!) where we were starting our trip. Doubtful Sound is a true wilderness area of gouged out mountains, dense forest and thundering waterfalls. It's three times the length and ten times the area of its more well known neighbour, Milford Sound. It is however more difficult and time consuming to access hence significantly less visited and the reason why we chosen to go here. It was named by Captain Cook who was 'doubtful' whether the winds in the sound would be sufficient to blow his ship back out to sea. We dumped all the gear in the shed and got kitted up in thermals, wet suits, skirts and life jackets and packed all the overnight gear into dry sacs. After carrying the kayaks down to the shoreline we loaded all the gear into the dry holds and set off. We were in a twin kayak with rudder and after a quick briefing from Keith we paddled off on flat calm waters. Although the cloud was low it was extremely atmospheric with the water pouring off the towering cliffs. We paddled down the main fiord before heading west down Hall Arm, passing Rolla Island where incredibly every species of native tree can be found. By now the day trippers on their motor boats had all passed and it was amazingly peaceful and very serene. The rain had started to fall and at times was extremely heavy, jumping off the water in huge drops after it landed. The waterfalls were full and pouring off the tops of the surrounding mountains. We paddled along side the impressive Commander Peak, the face of which was full of water falls dropping a shear fall of an impressive 1258m. After a few hours paddling we stopped for lunch at a campsite set in the forest beside a fresh water stream. This was also where we would set up camp for the night. The site had a communal shelter which gave respite from the sandflies as we enjoyed our packed lunch. According to Maori legend, one of the gods unleashed sandflies on mortals to ensure they would not linger in the beautiful countryside. It certainly works! Before heading back out in our kayaks we pitched our tent by the river. By the time we were in the kayaks we were being driven crazy by the sandflies and quickly paddled out to the middle of the water in an attempt to get away from them. It was as bad as a full scale midgie attack back home. We paddled through a narrow section of Hall Arm to reach the head of the inlet where we stopped to take in the remoteness and fabulous scenery. As we paddled back to camp the wind picked up a little bit and by the time we arrived we were both feeling the effects of paddling against both it and the tide. After emptying the kayaks and carrying them up to the campsite we got out of our wet gear and enjoyed tea and cake in the shelter. The rained had started to fall again and we waited with anticipation to hear the weather forecast which was radioed through from the office in Te Anau. It didn't sound too good and we did wondered what tomorrow might have in store. We had an early dinner of rehydrated spaghetti bolognese (and watched with amazement at the amount of food Keith ate) before heading off to our tent for the night, desperately trying to avoid letting the sandflies in!