When I started this latest adventure, I had three primary goals:

• Visit the Catlins - completed

• See Invercargill’s automotive museums - completed

• Visit Fiordland and take the trips - this article

In my last article I talked about my trip from Invercargill through the south of the South Island. It was awesome and now I had arrived in Manapouri. I make no apologies that this article will include lots of photos because there was so much to see, and I made the most of the opportunities.

The interesting backstory about Manapouri is that in the 1990’s I had a position in Electricity Corporation NZ that meant I was constantly visiting generation sites around New Zealand. However, as hard as I tried, I couldn’t work out how to get a trip to Manapouri, and it frustrated me. I have now visited Manapouri, didn’t go inside the generation capability but it was close enough to get rid of the frustration. The engineering is a miracle - one of the wonders of the world.

Doubtful Sound Wilderness Cruise

The first trip I did was the “Doubtful Sound Wilderness Cruise” which included a launch trip to Manapouri Power Station, followed by a bus trip to Deep Cove, then a 3-hour cruise around Doubtful Sound out to the Tasman Sea.

The boat trip to the Power Station was uneventful. Then we got into the visitor centre and were given a really good understanding of the effort required to build the station. The road to Deep Cove was truly impressive, and very steep at some stages - a gradient of 1:5 was mentioned, and it makes me wonder how they were able to haul such huge pieces of equipment up that road.

Once we were at Deep Cove, we boarded the vessel and took off. It was magic from the start:

We were absolutely blessed with the company of some dolphins on the way back and I have posted a video of them on Substack as a note if you want to see it. We then arrived back at Deep Cove, just by itself interesting, isolated sure but really scenic.

The trip home seemed quiet, with many people being very contemplative, just taking in the wonder of what they had just experienced. It was one of the top events of my life and I am so glad that I finally got there.

Te Anau Glowworm Cave

The next day I drove through to Te Anau, a pretty, bubbling little Tourist town with heaps of people, buses and cars. I had booked in for the tour of the Te Anau Glowworm caves for the early afternoon, so I duly arrived and booked in. The trip from Te Anau took about 45 minutes and it was a lovely cruise. When we arrived, we were welcomed and divided up into groups of 12, for the reason that halfway through the cave there is a boat that seats 12 people. More on that in a minute.

We were told firmly that no cameras were allowed and that we needed much care to walk through the cave. There would be handrails in most places, but we would have to stoop to pass through some parts. The guide was really nice, but firm. That is her on the right in the picture.

Now I do have a few phobias and being in an enclosed, dark, space is one of those. For anyone who recalls the Film Kill Bill 2 there was a scene where the heroine was buried alive in a casket - that is my worst fear.

So, we go into this cavern (a small hole really) and it is pitch black - lucky I have a rail to hold on to, and the light from the foreign woman in front of me who kept on taking photos (until sharply reprimanded).

We then delved deeper and deeper into the cave and got to a boat of some sort - we climbed into this and sat down with the rejoinder not to hold the edge of the boat if we wanted to keep our fingers intact as it scraped along the wall. All good, and we set off with the guide asking us for complete quiet as we entered the main cave, in order to really appreciate it. Just then a very young child (baby) started screaming at the top of their lungs and continued for the entire boat trip - it did echo somewhat. It wasn’t the baby’s fault, but I do wonder about the parents at times - it didn’t spoil the trip, but it would have been nice to really soak in the atmosphere without the high-pitched screaming.

Back to the boat and a lovely cruise back. A good 2-hour trip and I was not buried alive - must be good.

Milford Sound Cruise and Coach

The next morning, I was up bright and early so I could get on the bus trip to Milford Sound. The bus driver was chatty and friendly, and we had a good 2.5-hour trip from Te Anau to Milford Sound. We had three stops along the way and enjoyed the scenery - I have not included phots because I wanted to save some space for Milford Sound.

As you can see, the scenery was truly amazing, and the weather was nigh on perfect. We were visited by dolphins, saw a couple of young fur seals and just enjoyed the amazing scenery. I have been asked to compare Doubtful and Milford Sounds, but that is next to impossible because they are both fantastic. Doubtful Sound is larger (as a Fiord) but Milford mountains seem higher and more formidable. Best to see yourself and to make your own judgement.

I have had a great time in Fiordland and am delighted that I have done these trips. I recommend it to you all.