Skip to main content

Sounds Like a Fiord

At 7:00 AM we were standing in the rain waiting for our bus to Manapouri and our final destination of  Doubtful Sound in the Fiordlands.  We switched to a ferry to cross the lake, and then back to a bus  to finally reach Doubtful Sound.  The sound got its name when catain Cook got close to its entrance in 1770.  Fearing he would not be able to sail his ship Endeavor back out, he noted that it was Doubtful.

We travelled through the fiords for 3 hours.  The rain was a curse and a blessing.  There are only a handful of permanent waterfalls in the sound, but when it rains there are waterfalls everywhere.  If it had stopped raining (which it did not), our guide said the waterfalls would be gone within 4 hours.  So we had low visibility with the rain and mist but lots of waterfall sightings.  The pictures do not do justice to the beauty and vastness of the fiords.  You'll just have to trust us, or better yet plan a trip!



We got up close to these falls, they were 50+ meters tall 








Shawn has better pictures, but we'll have to wait until we get back to the land of real computers and Internet to share those.  In the meantime, click on the little picture to see a bigger one with detail.

Back in town, we opted for Italian food with a New Zealand flair: venison and gelato.

Venison in a berry sauce with a goat cheese tart and rocket salad

Homeade fettuccini with venison ragu


Daily ratings:
Doubtful Sound - 5 Kiwis
Birchwood Cottages - 5 Kiwis
Italian Restaurant = 4.5 Kiwis

Gelato flavor = Caamello
Steps taken = 1,631 (very few as we were on buses and boats all day)
Minutes without rain = none

Labels

Labels:
Location: Doubtful Sound, New Zealand

Comments

Unknown said…
Doubtful sound is a must see, pray for rain. It rains 2 out of 3 days in the fiord. Wear your best rain gear or buy better. Protect your camera, then tell your friends to go see it themselves. I did all of that except for the rain gear. I was soaked.
February 25, 2016 at 1:15 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts on Retiring

Early this morning while lying awake in bed, I did some mental math and realized I will be retiring from my career in IT almost exactly 30 years from the day I started my first job out of college.  It is a bittersweet experience.  While I’m excited about the next chapter in my life and our big adventure moving to Idaho, I’m also sad to bring my IT career to a close and leave my work family.  I have spent 40+ hours per week for the last 30 years solving problems, writing code, implementing systems, learning new technologies, meeting with customers, counseling staff, reading email, and attending way too many meetings. To help me through this change, I started thinking about all the things I won’t miss, like those meetings.  People compliment me on my copious note-taking in meetings.  Here’s the truth, I started taking notes in boring meetings to keep from falling asleep and then it just became a habit.  I started with legal pads and saved the loose l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Was That an Earthquake?

Started the day in Kaikoura with a quick stop at the local patchwork shop.   A Patch of Country is a cute little house packed with quilting fabric and supplies, yarn and knitting patterns and handmade children's clothing.  I was picking through the New Zealand designed fat quarters, then decided what the heck and bought the full Kiwiana kit with all the fabrics. I got the green and black kit The road to Christchurch was filled with more beautiful beaches and countryside, but you're probably getting tired of hearing how beautiful it is here, so here are some fun photos of a semi driving through a little tiny one-lane tunnel. And one more cute church because they're everywhere  We arrived in Christchurch too late for lunch and too early for dinner, but we stumbled upon Pedro's House of Lamb Takeaway.  They weren't officially open, but were nice enough to put a meal together for us.  Pedro's is a trailer in a liquor st...
Post a Comment
Read more

Boulders, A Castle, and a Bunch of Churches and Fancy Buildings

I was probably a little harsh about the B&B last night.  We got up this morning and Norman and Stephanie had prepared a lovely "Kiwi Lite" breakfast for us.  It is their take on the continental breakfast, but Norman said he can't call it that if they're not on a continent.  The table was laden with fresh raspberries, rhubarb, fruit salad, granola, toast, yogurt, cheese, butter, cream, custard, and jams.  Then they passed around hot cross buns.  We shared the tiny dining room with two couple from China.  One couple from Hong Kong spoke English and told us about their trip.  They left their one year old son with the grandparents so they could take a 2 week holiday. On the way from Oamaru we stopped to view the Moeraki Boulders on Norman's recommendation.  The boulders jut out from the beach.   Scientists explain the boulders as calcite concretions formed about 65 million years ago. Crystallization of calcium and carbonates around charg...
Post a Comment
Read more