Doubtful Sound

On our last full day in Queenstown we arranged a complex 12-hour round trip tour to Doubtful Sound. It worked out very well. It was a notable contrast to the miserable 11-hour "scenic" railway journey from Auckland to Queenstown.

We started at sunrise.

 
 Run by Real Journeys, a big tour company, it had four segments, a 2 to 3 hour bus ride through farm country to Manapouri, 

 a 50-minute boat ride across Lake Manapouri

a half-hour bus ride over the Wilmot Pass (with a view of Doubtful Sound in Japanese brush painting weather)

and a four-hour cruise on Doubtful Sound. Sun for the first segment and mixed cloud and rain for the rest, but not enough to ruin the visibility. And the many waterfalls which develop in the mountains when it rains were quite a sight. 

 But the main beauty was the vast terrain of the Sound. At one point they shut off the motors and generators for a few minutes of total silence. That was impressive.

 A distant view of the seal colony at the far end of Doubtful Sound marked the furthest point of our journey.

The sun was still out when we returned after 8 PM.