Patea - Doubtful Sounds
Today we needed to rise early as we were heading out to Manapouri (Manawapouri) to get picked up for our Doubtful Sound Cruise. With all things done we arrived early which allowed us time to sort the Motorhome out, put the bike inside and walk 10 minutes to the pickup port.
This was the first part of the journey where RealNZ has cruise boats for day and overnight trippers. Most were day trippers and we were the only two on the overnight cruise with Fiordland Expeditions - Dave at the helm and Oturo from the Philippines our chef.
The trip across the Manawapouri was a beauty. Māori history of the area gives different names for the lake including Roto-ua, Lake of rain, and Moturau, Lake of many Islands. For the next hour, we were to bear witness to the many islands as we traveled through to the other side of the lake. Thankfully we were spared the effects of tears that feed the lake and each of us in our own way, we experienced the sorrow of the death of the two sisters Moturua and Koronae who both died as a result of Koronae becoming stranded after injuring herself in a fall and Moturua sitting with her until they perished.
There was a slight breeze to start off which gave the lake a beautiful mirror image which made the photography superb. There was also slight cloud cover with blue skies overhead as we emerged from the port out into the lake's expansive catchment. We decided to take the top platform for the trip out in the elements. Luckily the chill wasn’t too bad.
What a stunning view! Being surrounded by piercing mountain ranges covered in snow was an absolute eye feast. Drop off saw us enter our van and onto the next part through the track over the top to our cruise ship and eventual departure. This part of the journey saw us travel through some thick rainforest foliage, vertical cliff forms with cascading waterfalls bursting free and all the aroma of a healthy native forest that our country has a reputation for. As we approached the downhill road we got a view of Patea, The Doubtful Sounds. Wow! OMG! Wehina! This just blew us away, and the increased anticipation was just palpable.
Our tour operator has an encyclopedic mind with all sorts of facts stored away to make for an interesting journey. We assisted with carrying stores to the boat before settling in for our journey on Tautoko I, our 20m overnighter boat. This company is owned by Mandy and Richard who have a small fleet of which Tutoko I is a part of. This can take a maximum of 12 people excluding staff (2-3) depending on group size.
So with everything packed on board it was about 11:30am when we eventually departed. Having not had parakuihi I was keen for a little snack before our lunch. I made our way up to the quarters and Jo had chosen the penthouse suite which was perfect. We had the top level which turned out to be the bomb. Once all the bags and gear were all unpacked we then set out to enjoy our cruise. My first impressions were one of awe! Wehina! The sheer scope of the cliffs, bush and clarity of the water all make for a world class environment worthy of being included in the seven wonders of the world.
This is an absolute picture of an extraordinary environment. I was often left thinking how is it that we have this here and I’ve never really had the inclination to visit to see for myself? The density of the ngahere, beech forests, birds and sea life all mingle in to make this amazing experience available for all. The weather added to the occasion, there was rain, mist, sun, a little breeze and overnight snow to wake up to. I mean this is a place that measures its rainfall in metres so fortunately for us that we only had millimeters during our cruise. The enormity of the mountain ranges that pop up 600 plus metres at times. like skyscrapers gives you the feeling of insignificance.
Ta Tipene O’Regan said in his Ata Whenua portrayal of the Fiordlands ‘Whatukarokaro te tangata, toitu te whenua. People will perish but land always remains. Tika tēra whakaaro. This really puts the human condition in its place and I admit to feeling quietly insignificant, vulnerable in fact.
This is a place all New Zealanders need to see, the bucket list of visits. Of course the cost is the issue I imagine for most people. For us we looked at it this way. We’re hiring our own private boat, fully catered to for all meals, all facilities available with fishing, diving, kayaking, weather and staff permitting. This was our own chartered boat for a night in this absolutely stunning environment. There’s two staff members taken away from their whanau, taking two tourists out to the Sounds, and on a massive 60 foot cruiser. Plus make it a oncer and once over it’s done, and then you can say putting costs aside that you saw how Aotearoa was prior to human intervention taking place over the rest of the land. It was pretty damn special.
Because they were one staff member down, we were unable to sample any paua or kina. However, with fishing rods out we were able to score a mixture of ika, including sea perch, blue cod, gurnard, tarakihi and other smaller bait fish. Of course they went down a treat for dinner.
We were also guided by a small pod of bottlenose dolphins. They’re very large, maybe a little over two metres in length, being the largest of the dolphin species and very friendly and playful. They swam from the bow, interweaving and rotating on their side to maybe get a good look at who I was. One seemed to respond to my frantic waving and directing by increasing its movements quite dramatically and then bursting the surface gasping for air. When I looked at the tail fin area I wondered how they could keep up with the boat as they didn’t seem to be swimming at all. Maybe they get pushed or helped by the forward momentum of the boat? One returned to farewell us the following morning so that was a bonus.
Also appearing was a fairly dense aniwaniwa that had us grasping for superlatives. Eventually twp appeared, these didn’t last too long, but the imagery was mind boggling. We received many tohu from our tūpuna and this was one of them. Uenuku was sending a guiding message, one of respect and acceptance of this great gift, this koha presented to us at this moment. We accepted humbly and felt the presence with great satisfaction and gratitude. Seeing Jo returning her expression of joy and excitement whilst the aniwaniwa arched above her but in the distance, made the whole journey that much more unbelievable. It was quite surreal really.
After the day’s awesome adventures, we got to bed maybe a little around midnight and settled in for a lovely well deserved moe (sleep) in our suite. By the way, it’s not a luxury boat but it was comfy and the top deck had windows all around that enabled us to take in the amazing landscape.
The morning brought us a very chilly zero degrees with some overnight snow covering the surrounding ranges. I got up a little after 6am just to walk around and check out the morning views, and what a sight it was. There was some low range hugging cloud forms rising as the morning started warming. The water was a lovely glass off and there was a soft pitter patter rain fall just enough to add atmosphere to the occasion although it already had it in truck loads.
With breakfast under our belts we headed way out to the wahapū of the sounds. Being in the Sounds is like being immersed in nature, in te taiao, and so it was when the captain decided to introduce us to the water falls then what better way to get immersed than stand under the falls while he carefully maneuvered the waka away from the rock face. So there I was for a little time getting blessed by the crystal clear waters of the mounga whilst the waka was parked underneath. As I turned around I looked up to the top deck and there was Jo literally crying with joy, tears streaming down her face and we both there and then acknowledged that what we were experiencing is a once in a lifetime thing. Well worth the investment. It was at that stage also that I realised how privileged we are and how grateful I was for having Jo with me as she’s the main reason we are here at this time and having these experiences. I feel so blessed.
As we got further out into the sounds towards the wahapū (mouth) we had whom I decided was the leader of the dolphin pack come back to guide us out. It was quite fitting really that this dolphin should bless us with its presence after experiencing what we’d just been through. After a solid journey out to the mouth to view the things that the captain thought worthy, which they were, we headed back to port.
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