After our first night in Queenstown we drove further south to Manapouri for an overnight trip on Doubtful Sound. A boat was waiting to take us on a 50 minute cruise on Lake Manapouri where we would board a coach for a trip over the winding Wilmot Pass before ariving at Doubtful Sound itself.
The Lake Manapouri boat was called the Fiordland Flyer and quite large (no chance of getting my paws wet here). Softy and I took charge of the driving (helped by a nice man called Bruce) and we soon arived at the west end of the lake - next to the Manapouri Hydro Power Station (the largest in New Zealand).
Whilst waiting to board the boat lots lof nastly little bugs called Sandflies buzzed Fiona and the other people. Luckily those of us with fur were not bothered by this but they all found it really annoying!
At the top of the Wilmot Pass we briefly got off the bus for our first (misty) view of Doubtful Sound. A short time later we were at the jetty boarding the Fiordland Navigator - our home for the next 24 hours.
We were soon underway. Once again my VIB status got us a special cabin - one with it's own bathroom and a door (most other people had to use the shared bathrooms and they only had a curtain for a door!). On his first trip down to the cabin Fiona's Dad was lucky enough to see a dolphin swimming along beside the boat. Everyone else had to wait until the following morning when we were joined by three or four of them.
We cruised along the sound until we reached the sea - pausing to view some seals on a nearby island and where you know who saw a swimming penguin (again the only person to see this!). We then turned around and went back down the sound to a calm area where the boat dropped anchor for 'fun' activities. Kate and her mum went for a ride in some little motor boats while Fiona and her dad went kayaking. Softy and I wisely stayed inside.
After this we had a nice dinner and then went off to bed early as it was a 6:30 start the following morning.
There was some fuss during breakfast when some dolphins swam by causing everyone to leave their bacon and rush to one side of the boat. Luckily we didn't tip over and so were able to continue our cruise, this time though the narrowest part of the sound where we could get a good look at the steep cliff sides.
The driver seemed to go to sleep at one point as he took us right into an island.
I was going to take charge but he got it under control again and with some excellent driving took us very close to the shore for some great views of the some of the many waterfals that run down the cliff walls.
All too soon our time was up and we were back onto the coach for the short journey to Manapouri where the Flyer took us back to the car.
It was a wonderful trip. You can see some more photos here.
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