Doubtful Sound

After an early night, we woke early for our kayak trip on the sound. We were at the office for 7.30am and had set off by 8am. To get to the remote Doubtful Sound we first had to take a 45min boat journey across Lake Manapouri before a further 40min bus journey (with hot chocolate) to Deep Cove, our departure point. We knew it was going to be a great day when as soon as we got in our kayak we were joined in the water by a friendly pod of about fifteen bottlenose dolphins!

The weather was typical for Fiordland (it rains over 260 days of the year and averages over 8m annually), so at least we got an authentic experience made all the more worthwhile by the huge number of waterfalls that are only in action after heavy rainfall. We paddled in our double kayak for almost three hours down the sound before boarding the small boat (that had gone on ahead of us) for lunch.

After lunch we kayaked for another three hours as we made our way past 'Mini Mitre' peak and down Hall Arm. It was great to experience the unbelievable surroundings and tranquility of the sound from water level, especially with the knowledge that we were the only six people on the sound and probably for miles around. For us, this 'remoteness' made it more spectacular and remarkable than the touristy and busier Milford Sound.