Doubtful Sound Trip - The Finale

On the way back from the Tasman, through Doubtful, we stopped in at Crooked Arm (an arm of water that comes off the sound) and got RIGHT up beside the slope of a mountain...it was so close that those at the front of the boat could probably have formed a very small human chain and touched it. Ok so maybe it felt a lot closer than it really was but seriously, it was amazing.

We also stopped into another little area where they did a little thing called "The Sound of Silence"...where the tour guide told everyone that we are all going to go outside, stop walking around, shut off cameras or anything that can even make a tiny noise, be completely still and just listen...they shut off the engines and generators on the boat and for about a minute it was completely silent. We could only hear the rolling waves, the wind between the mountains and the songbirds...it was so beautiful. I wanted to cry.

And it was a terrible moment when they turned the generators back on. I wanted to cry. I wanted to jump off the boat, swim to whatever piece of land would hold me instead of casting me back down into the water, and sit there and just listen. Forever. It was so great.

We cruised back to Deep Cove, got off the ship and back onto our buses. We then started for the Underground Power Station. This is where they have drilled their way into a mountain to make a power station under Lake Manapouri. We drove down this tunnel and had, if I remember correctly, 15000 m of mountain on top of us...it was some nutso number that kinda made me slightly claustrophobic after hearing it. It smelled like sulphur and to be honest, driving down and down a tunnel, deeper and deeper into a mountain was quite thrilling to me.

When we got to the power station itself, I was less than impressed. Yeah I can see how it would have taken a lot of work to do it but the whole splendour of creation and nature was slightly dampened at the sight of man-made technology...it was loud, crowded, and just...uninteresting to me. In any case, I went back up to the tunnel before everyone else.

We got back on the bus, went back to the boat to take us to Lake Manapouri, and just as we were arriving at the visitor's centre, a Kea (alpine parrot) flew in to pose on top of the roof for a few photos. Now everyone was all excited and wowed by the situation, but for people who live in the area, Keas are the New Zealand equivalent to Seagulls. Scavengers. Beggars. Destroyers of human property. They're cute and all, but they've been fed by humans so much that they will literally steal food out of your hand if you're looking the other way.

We got back on the boat and took off for Manapouri. I sat in the same seat as before, Mary and Len joined me, but my Dutch friend Pete didn't join us for he found a fellow Dutch friend and sat with him. But a lady from Austria came and sat with us, and her son immediately avoided everyone at the table...I thought he was hiding on the other sdie of his mother. I was talking to Len, who was sitting across from me when all of a sudden I felt someting rubbing my foot and leg...and I was getting really creeped out because I knew that Len was a good guy and a Christian and all...but...was he getting frisky?!

I looked down and realized it was Julian, the lady's 5 year old son, hiding under the table and trying to annoy me! I was absolutely blown away and started laughing out loud. I told Len I thought he was getting frisky and we all started laughing so loud...it was just one of those very awkward moments and the laughter was like a sigh of relief that I didn't have to punch anyone in the face! haha...it was funny.

I went back up top until we landed the boat - I got off, said a quick goodbye to Len, Mary, the Austrian lady and Julian...and found my bus to take me back to Te Anau. Once I had a cellphone signal again, my text alert started going off to show me the texts I had missed all day because of having no signal.

Back to reality.

It had been a very long day...but a welcome day off and a mostly relaxing one. I can see how tourists can get worn out very quickly though...the day just seemed to be "go go go go" with no down time. Always being filled with information, people always talking...no alone time. But I still enjoyed myself.

This is a random bit of information that I learned a while ago, but I don't know if I have told y'all yet: Trees that grow on the sides of mountains here have VERY little soil to nourish them. In fact, entire forests of trees grow out of moss - which is enough to nourish them. The trees, since they cannot deeply root themselves, intertwine their roots with other trees, causing a big massive tangle. When one tree gives loose, bends over or breaks, it pulls down a whole mass of trees with it, causing a tree avalanche, or "slip" as they call it here.


And these are the things I learned on my cruise:
1. The mountains of the fiords are cut steep because of glacial movement from inland to the sea
2. There are some very beautiful people in this world - and it's interesting to see so many cultures in one small place. Different languages, different looks, features, etc.
3. Tourists only ask single travellers to take pictures of them; as if they don't have anything better to do, unlike those who are travelling with friends.
4. When you're at the very back of a ship, facing outwards, you can sing pretty dang loud and no one will notice unless they're right beside you.
5. Bagged lunches taste SO much better when you don't make it yourself!

That's my story. The end.