I got there about nine in the morning planning to have a very leisurely morning. But as I made myself a coffee in the kitchen I got talking to a girl from Denmark called Heidi and she asked me if I wanted to go on a trek with her. So off we went along the Kepler Track.
It is one of the great walks of New Zealand and heads off into the Kepler mountains. The whole walk can be done over four days, staying in special huts along the way. But we just did two hours into the walk and two hours back again. We were joined on the return section by an Iranian girl called Mila. She studies international peace and conflict, Heidi studies journalism and I am a journalist. We had some very stimulating discussions about world peace and the impact journalism has on situations. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. We then met up later and went out for a meal. So much for my doing nothing for a day!!
The next day I joined a trip to Doubtful Sound. (Most people opt for the Milford Sound tour but Doubtful Sound is larger and gets less tourists. Captain Cook named it Doubtful because when he saw the sound he was doubtful he would be able to sail out of it if he proceeded further.) It is a silent wilderness that has only become accessible since the Wilmott pass was built in 1959. A place of towering peaks and bush clad islands. It is an incredibly beautiful fiord.
First I was picked up by bus from the hostel to join a boat to cruise the crystal clear waters of Lake Manapouri. There were only two other people on the bus with me,Jason and Stephanie, an English couple who live in Winchester.There were only about thirty of us who boarded the boat for a lovely cruise on the lake.
After an hour on the lake we boarded a bus to be driven over the Wilmot pass. We stopped along the way to experience some of Fiordlands most dense rainforest and to view Doubtful Sound glistening below.
When we got to Deep Cove we transferred to a catamaran for a three hour cruise which took in most of the stunning scenery of Doubtful Sound. I was so excited when we saw some bottlenose dolphins (I nearly dropped my camera in the water I was squeeling so much!!) A really large one was right at the edge of the boat. And there were lots of them in the distance playing and just throwing themselves into the air,it was lovely to see. At one point the captain shut the engines off and asked everyone not to take photos or walk around so that we could all just sit and absorbe the silence and beauty of our surroundings. It was a fabulous experience that I will always remember.It was so beautiful and peaceful.
When we got back to shore we were driven in the coach 2km underground to see Manapouri underground power station machine hall. It was not as boring as it sounds!
It is a major supplier of electricity in New Zealand. A tunnel was dug through the mountain from Lake Manapouri to Doubtful Sound and the massive flow of water from the lake to sound now drives the power stations turbines to generate the electricity.
It was a fantastic day and when we got back I went out for a chinese meal with Jason and Stephanie who were staying in a campervan near the youth hostel. They were moving on the next day, but I stayed on in Te Anau determined to have a day doing nothing!!! But I plan to meet up with them again in Queenstown.
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