2015 New Zealand
 

Day 5 - 12/09/2015 Doubtful Sound

2015 New Zealand
Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Today is an exciting day, or it will be if the weather cooperates. Our plan is to drive back to Manapouri (bottom right) where we take a ferry right across Lake Manapouri to West Arm (centre lower). Here we alight and catch a bus across the mountain to Doubtful Sound. Then we board another ferry and go all the way to the entrance of Doubtful Sound at Bauza Island (top left). Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The day gets off to a bad start. For breakfast, we go to the local bakery where I have toast on white supermarket bread that disintegrates under the knife, topped with butter out of a plastic pack and putrid peanut butter, also out of a plastic pack. This is partially washed down with undrinkable coffee. But the day gets distinctly better after that. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We drive 20 kms back to Manapouri and the scenery, even this farm, is stupendous. We pull off the road a couple of times to take pictures. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ This is our first experience with what the Maoris once called the "Land of the long white cloud". I also remember hearing that the Maoris now refer to NZ as the "Land of the wrong white crowd".
Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ At Manapouri township we join a tour to Doubtful Sound run by a company called Real Journeys. Excellent company, highly recommended. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The first part of our journey is by high speed ferry to the far western side of the lake to a wharf near the West Arm power station. The trip is to take 50 minutes and will reach speeds of 45 kmh. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ At the ferry terminal I see my first endemic tree species, a Beech Tree. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ These are called beech even though they aren’t really beech (fagus); they are evergreens but they look like beech from a distance. In fact, and amusingly, their botanical name is Nothofagus meaning not fagus
Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ "Beech forests are the largest remaining indigenous forest type in New Zealand, mainly because beech forests are found on mountainous land not generally regarded as the best for agriculture. A bit less than a quarter of NZ is still covered in native forest (6.4 million ha) Of these forests, about two thirds have some beech in them. About half of these have almost nothing but beech trees." NZ Dept of Conservation. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Lake Te Anau's natural level is 203 metres above sea level. It drains into Lake Manapouri and its natural level is 178 metres. Water drops 178 metres through the power station, generates electricity, and exits into Doubtful Sound. Both lakes are held at roughly their natural levels by diverting water into the power station (and into the Waiou River when there is excess water). During dry times, the lakes' low limits are controlled. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ This pole indicates to tourists the current level of the water. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We go on board and up onto the top deck where we see this magnificent view from the bow.
Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The weather is a quite balmy 8° and we think that the top deck will be a great ride across the lake. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ However, when the boat gets underway, it is too cold to stay up on the top deck so we go below to the stern. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The power of the diesel engines is intoxicating as is the speed. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The "Long white cloud" is an incredible phenomenon. However, this is the only one we see on the trip to the West Arm dock so it must need a certain set of atmospheric conditions to form.
Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The journey to West Arm is a great trip that I enjoy very much. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The inane chatter of the passengers inside the cabin is stupefyingly boring so I spend the majority of the trip on the rear deck. I love the roar of the diesels (sounds that I much prefer) and the high speed of the boat. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ As we approach the West Arm terminus, we see the power lines heading south to the Aluminium Smelter located near Invercargill 160 kms away. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The majority of the plant's alumina is supplied from refineries at Gladstone in Queensland. Around 90% of the finished product is exported.
Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ This is the inlet to the power station. It is the largest hydroelectric power station in NZ and the second largest power station in NZ. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We dock in the West Arm. This dock was once used during the construction of the power station. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ There is a small stand of Beech at the dock that is part of the rehabilitation scheme. We now travel by road over the Wilmot Pass to Doubtful Sound. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The bus drives over a road used during the construction of the power station but it is now more of a private road maintained by user pays.
Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We stop at the top for a view down into Doubtful Sound. Magnificent. Unbelievable. We also enter a different climatic zone. The rainfall on this side of the mountain is nearly 8 metres per year and it rains 200 days a year. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ It is also vastly colder – the temperature can not be much more than 5° and the sun does not appear all day. A heavy mist hangs over the mountain tops and the spectacle is somewhat ethereal. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Once upon a time it was Japanese tourists, now it's the Chinese. They had their own tour bus with a Chinese tour guide. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ It is steep down the other side, a slope of 1 in 5 according to our driver.
Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Our driver points out small pink triangles that lead to stoat traps. Park Rangers load the traps with eggs and the stoats enter the trap after them. Once the stoats are trapped, the rangers dispatch them. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ In 1770 Captain Cook named this place Doubtful Harbour. He didn't enter the inlet as he was uncertain whether it was navigable under sail. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Whalers and sealers later renamed it Doubtful Sound although it is not technically a sound but a fiord (a Sound is created by a river, a Fiord is created by a Glacier). Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Once on the Patea Explorer, our hosts inform us that we are lucky that the weather is so mild. Kiwi humour we suspect.
Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We head west towards the Tasman Sea. Along the way we see a couple of sanctuary islands where NZ is trying to save native flightless birds such as the Kiwi and the Kea Parrot. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ This story is about Stoats. NZ has a rabbit problem (introduced in the 1870s), so greater minds than ours decided to import the natural enemy of the rabbit from Europe, the stoat (introduced in the 1880s). Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The problem is that the stoat had easier meals by killing the native ground dwelling birds so much so that, by ten years later, there were drastic declines in native bird populations. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ NZ now has a rabbit problem (not carnivorous) AND a stoat problem (carnivorous) AND the national symbol in danger of extinction.
Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Rats are also a problem as they have been known to swim to these islands. The Maoris brought rats with them when they came to NZ 7-800 years ago. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Jenni keeps saying that her iPhone is taking better pictures than the Pentax in her hands. I check the Pentax a couple of times and it seems OK. A couple of days from now we get serious and find the problem. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We motor up the southern side of Secretary Island which is a wildlife sanctuary. I take this picture of the onboard navigation system. Our boat can be seen approaching Bauza Island. Secretary Island's western side faces the Tasman Sea and the triangular shaped island provides two passages to Doubtful Sound. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ As we approach the Tasman Sea, nestled in the lee of Blanket Bay, is a fisherman’s hut. Fiordland is a national park and private buildings are prohibited. However, the park boundary stops at the high water level. So these enterprising fisherfolk built the hut between the high and low water marks. The NZ Government quickly changed the legislation but the hut remains because it pre-dates the changed legislation.
Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We travel along the southern side of Bauza Island and eventually approach the Shelter Islands. I venture to the pointy end of the boat but stay inside. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ I eventually join a few other brave souls on the front deck. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The sea is very rough but our hosts comment on how lucky we are because, “It doesn’t get much calmer than this.” More Kiwi humour I suspect. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Being so calm, the boat is able to get within a couple of hundred metres of one of the Shelter Islands Group at the entrance to the sound. These islands are home to a colony of seals (actually sea lions). They were once hunted nearly to extinction but they are recovering now.
Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We head back and on the way back we go into two arms of the sound, the Crooked Arm and the Hall Arm. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ In the Crooked Arm, the captain turns off the engine and the generators and asks the passengers to be extremely quiet. The purpose of this is so that we can enjoy the sound of nothing at all. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ After a while I can hear a waterfall running and for a short time, the sound of small waves hitting the shore line. It is wet on deck and drops of water running off the boat’s canopy fall like thunder on to the metal deck. It is a magical experience. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ On our way to the next arm, the captain explains that these gaps are caused by the side of the mountain falling away. The foliage grows on solid rock, first as lichens and moss, then small plants take hold. Small shrubs and bushes follow finally followed by native trees. The next time there is an earthquake large enough, the whole side slides into the sea below.
Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We enter the Hall Arm and the captain again stops the boat and points out the fractures in the mountain in front of us. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ He informs us that this part of NZ experiences noticeable earthquakes on average about once a day. There are hundreds of small ones that no one notices. He also describes straddling the boundary between two tectonic plates as the cause. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ This is a relief. It turns out that, after all, earthquakes are not caused by gods that are angry at the sinfulness of mankind. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ It's then a relatively short trip back to the dock at Wanganella Cove. Get off the boat. Get in the bus.
Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Ride the bus over the Wilmott Pass. Look at how much of the day has gone - it's 15:56 and we're still an hour from base at Te Anau. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Arrive at West Arm dock. Get off the bus. Take a quick look at the water inlet to the West Arm power station. Get on the boat. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Head for Manapouri dock. It is noticeably less cold right now and patches of blue peep through the clouds. Get off the boat. Get in the car. Drive home. Day 5 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Home at last after a really great day, one of the best ever. We take the opportunity to use the motel’s laundry facilities during which time we go and have a proper Italian pizza. Very good it is too.
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