The flight from Christchurch to Queenstown was about as carefree as our last domestic New Zealand flight: no ID checks necessary and no liquid restrictions (which was good because we still had a bottle of rosé from our vineyard tour). The flight was so quick that we barely had a chance to drink our free glass of water before we were descending into the mountains around Queenstown. We all agreed it is one of the most scenic airports we’ve ever seen - and the crystal clear sky didn’t hurt!
Very fun to watch the descent out the window (yes, I am a child when it comes to airplanes).
We grabbed our bags and headed into town. We were supposed to be staying at the Sofitel, but (to make a long, boring story very short) there was a mix-up with our booking and we had to find another place to stay. We settled into the Best Western, one of the only options available last minute, and walked to town to explore and grab dinner.
Downtown Queenstown is very nice – lots of shops, restaurants, bars and very clean – so we strolled around for a bit before eating dinner at Lone Star. As the name might suggest, this is a meat-heavy restaurant, which was just fine with us. I got the “big boy” portion of ribs (because who really wants to order the “little boy” version of anything?). I needed help finishing it…
The “Big Boy” ribs – I think they get their portion sizes from Texas…
We went home full and sleepy, excited for our trip to Doubtful Sound.
On Friday at 8am we began the first leg of our journey to Doubtful Sound. Our friendly bus driver / guide Barry drove us from Queenstown to Manapouri and provided commentary on the beautiful scenery we were driving past. We stopped for coffee half way at a small café that also had some great views of the mountains.
Wonder if this goat will ever realize just how good his daily views are?
Private road across from the café – pretty nice!
After about another hour of driving we were at Manapouri, where we would catch our first boat of the day across Lake Manapouri to its West Arm. We had a picnic lunch here before boarding and enjoyed just taking in the surrounding scenery.
Almost to Manapouri with a few minutes to spare, Barry pulled over so we could take some pictures.
Group shot.
Glad these guys showed up after we ate (they helped themselves to some of our boat-mates' lunches mid-meal - they must be used to people showing up every day I guess).
Our first boat boarded promptly at 12:30 and we set off on the 50 minute voyage across Lake Manapouri. It was VERY windy, but the decision to sit on the top, open deck proved well worth it - the views were amazing (and we're not even at Doubtful Sound yet)!
Making our way across Lake Manapouri. You can tell how windy it was - just look at all the whitecaps!
We stopped to pull into a cove with a waterfall along the way.
The next stage of our journey took us by bus over Wilmot Pass. It was a pretty steep drive - both the ascent and decent had such intense grades that we weren't sure our bus was the right vehicle for the road. Our light-hearted driver Alan reassured us that he "Passed his driving test yesterday!" When we reached the pass we were treated to great views of Doubtful Sound below.
Doubtful Sound.
When we reached the bottom of the very steep hill to Doubtful Sound, we boarded the Fiordland Navigator, our home for the night. The crew gave us a safety briefing then helped us into our not-so-spacious cabin - good thing we'll be spending most of our time on deck looking at the scenery!
Cabin for four - time to REALLY get to know my in-laws!
We left our overnight bags in the cabin, grabbed our cameras and headed out on deck. The Navigator had a nature guide on board to make sure we saw all the important sights, though the spectacular views were hard to miss!
Crusin' on Doubtful Sound.
Looking back on the Sound from the Tasman Sea.
We spotted some seals lounging on a rock (except for those two playing).
After several hours sailing around the Sound (which is a fiord, technically, by the way), we anchored in a calmer area of water to do some kayaking. The Navigator offered three water activities for those interested: tender boat rides (we all passed), kayaking (we all participated) and swimming, which they advertise as "for the brave only." Michael and I decided we were brave enough for the cold water in the fiord - good thing they had hot showers available for us right after we got out!
We anchored in Bradshaw Sound, one of the "arms" off of Doubtful Sound.
Ready for kayaking.
Michael and Judy beat us to it!
Father-in-law / son-in-law bonding.
After we warmed up it was time for dinner. The food was definitely one of our biggest surprises to the upside on the journey - we were expecting to get great views of the Sound, but we didn't expect the food to be so amazing! We ended the evening with a bottle of wine and a few card games before settling into our cozy cabin for the night.
We woke up this morning to overcast skies. Apparently we were quite lucky to have the clear weather yesterday - it rains two out of three days here. Fortunately we didn't get any rain though, just a mistier perspective on the Sound. It had a quieter, eerier feeling as we cruised around this morning and the water looked particularly black due to the depth of the water (over 1,000 feet in many places) and overcast skies.
Cloudy day on Doubtful Sound.
Exploring Hall Arm, the furthest point away from the Tasman Sea on Doubtful Sound.
By 10am we had docked in the harbor at Deep Cove and we disembarked for our return journey to Queenstown. Our cruise around Doubtful Sound was definitely a highlight of our time in New Zealand (and the trip overall)! A real bucket list experience!