Queenstown-Lakes District

4 years ago, we had booked a day trip on Doubtful Sound. We were planning to stay in an Airbnb in Manapouri, about 5 minutes walk from Pearl Harbor, the docks where the excursions depart from.

But Mother Nature had other ideas. This region normally gets up to 10 meters of rain in a year. Over a 3 day period, the area received a tenth of the annual rainfall, which caused landslides and washed out roads everywhere in the Southland of New Zealand. Hikers were rescued from mountain huts, one of which had been destroyed by a large tree. Tourists were trapped for days until helicopters could ferry them out. There was no practical way for us to get to Manapouri. So we headed to Dunedin a few days early, over roads that were being repaired just before we drove over them and followed the flood waters as they flowed down to the coast.

Fast forward, 2024 and we made it to Manapouri! The day of the boat trip started with howling winds and lots of rain overnight. We had planned to walk the half mile to the harbor, but it was truly miserable out. Not an auspicious start. In the end it was an amazing trip with all sorts of weather. I was very glad I’d brought my winter hat and gloves!

The trip starts with a boat ride across the width of Lake Manapouri to the start of a 12 mile unsealed road that goes up and over 2000 ft high Wilmot Pass. The road was constructed in the 1960s to transport heavy equipment to the site of hydro station being built under the mountain on the shore of Lake Manapouri. (Construction generated great controversy - Google “save Manapouri”) The hydro station takes advantage of a 750 foot drop from the level of Lake Manapouri to the Deep Cove end of Doubtful Sound to generate power.

The road gave tourist access to the 25 mile long and over 1000 foot deep Doubtful Sound. Busses take you up and over the pass, with a few stops to view the Sound from above. At the end of the very steep road down, you’re at Deep Cove (the sand flies are waiting for you there!) Here you board another boat for the trip through the fiord, some of its arms and out to the mouth of the sound where it joins the Tasman Sea.

Surrounded by beautiful mountains rising steeply out of the water and waterfalls that turn on and off with the rain, it was an overwhelming experience. Some of the waterfalls are permanent, fed by lakes and streams hidden high up in the mountains. The boat takes you close to those falls. At one of the waterfalls, the crew turned off all the motors and asked everyone to be stay still and listen to the quiet.

For most of the trip the water was quite calm, but things did get bouncy at the start of the Tasman Sea. At that point I’d gone up to the top deck at the back of the boat and found myself hanging on to the railings, I couldn’t have navigated the stairs at that point.

I took a zillion photos, while Doug took in the scene without taking any. I would happily go back and skip taking photos.

A few hours later, the cruise ends back at Deep Harbor and you repeat the bus ride and the Lake Manapouri boat ride.Read more