I am afraid that you will belate receiving this episode as we are sleeping the night on theFjordland Navigator in Doubtful Sound. There is no communication coverage at all, to give an idea how remote we had to travel 30 minutes by coach, a lake transfer for 1 hour to a hydro-electric site and then another bus trip across a dirt track. We then have navigated 20 miles out towards the Tasman Sea. When we went on deck it is pitch dark outside, it is just black there is no light source of any sort. We are also the farthest south we will ever sleep, 45 deg 20 mins, I have a photo of the ship GPS to prove it.
Well where to start, Doubtful Sound is simply a place of superlatives, it is a remote fjord, that is gloomy, because it is one of the wettest places on earth. The mountains come right down to the sea, interspersed with frequent waterfalls. Through the gloom there are occasional rays of sun. And it is remote.
The boat that we are on holds 70 people and we have a comfortable double cabin with ensuite facilities. The boat moves slowly, does not feel crowded, there is an informative commentary and ample viewing space. You can even visit the bridge and ask the captain things, they have an open door policy. Presumably there are not too many hijackers in these parts. It even made us feel enthusiastic about wild live even though we did not see a penguin, plenty of seals and albatrosses though.. Included in the tour was an opportunity to get out on the water in kayaks, which was fantastic feeling so low down and quiet in such a landscape.
To make it better we had great conversation with an American couple from Milwaukie (they are Packers sason ticket holders), and a Dutch couple who I made the mistake of calling German, all was forgiven over Fawlty Towers jokes. Well I must to bed as we have to be up at 6.45 tomorrow when the boat sails for more fantastic scenery. A real highlight of the holiday.
No pictures again I am afraid!
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