New Zealand | Day 8 | Kepler Track to Doubtful Sound | Saturday, Feb. 5th, 2011

We were up bright and early on the last day of our hike, as we wanted to make sure we caught our 10am shuttle back to town. We said goodbye to the Aussie couple and the Coloradans, and took off down the trail.  It was a nice short hike through flat marshland and up to the southern shore of the Waiau River, which we followed until the Rainbow Reach swingbridge which was pretty much the off ramp for the trek.  You could continue along the Waiau another two hours all the way back to the Control Gates to complete the loop, but we had a boat to catch.  We triumphantly crossed the bridge shortly after 9, and took a post-tramp photo next to the Kepler Track sign.  Our shuttle showed up promptly at 10, and returned us to the Silver Bullet back at the Visitor Center carpark.  After changing into flip-flops (kiwi translation: jandals) we shuffled over to the DOC shop to pick up some Kepler Track t-shirts in celebration of our completion of the hike.

Exiting the Kepler Track at the Rainbow Reach swingbridge



We had some errands to run before we headed down to Manapouri for the cruise, so it was off to the pharmacy to buy more ibuprofen, motion sickness pills, and anti-itch creme for the sandfly/blackfly bites.  Then we cruised over to the supermarket for some bread, cheese, and salami for a picnic on the way out to the sound.  Lastly, it was time to eat.  For the first time in days, I became full as I annihilated a footlong chicken breast sandwich at Subway (truth be told, I was hungry again by the time we got on the boat).  Clark had a 6" chicken, lime and coriander taste sensation (for a limited time only) and we hopped in the car for the 20 minute drive down to Manapouri.  We checked in, quickly reconfigured our luggage so we had clean clothes, swimsuits and all the electronics, and it was time to board the ferry across Lake Manapouri.  It had been sunny that morning, but the forecast called for rain by the afternoon.  By 12:30, it was raining, and continued to do so for the next 24 hours in various degrees of severity.  It didn't matter though, because we were safe and dry in the boat.  After crossing the lake (it is massive, and also the 2^nd deepest in NZ) we disembarked and got on the 1/2 hour bus shuttle across the Wilmot Pass to get down to the pier where our ship, the Fiordland Navigator, awaited. 

Although it was somewhat frustrating that we couldn't see much of the mountain scenery, we had just spent 3 days experiencing it, so it wasn't too heartbreaking.  We knew that rainfall = waterfalls, and that was the highlight of any Sound cruise.  As we boarded the ship with the 68 other passengers, it was clear that we were going to be experiencing a much higher standard of living than we had the past few days.  Our room was actually quite spacious for being on a boat, and the beds were comfy, and we had a shower right in the room.  We went back up on the main deck and hung out in the observation lounge, sipping tea and enjoying the scenery.  The waterfalls weren't quite in full flow yet, but we could tell it was going to get pretty spectacular.  The plan was that we would cruise out to the very end of Doubtful Sound, where it meets the Tasman Sea, check out the seal colony and come back into one of the more sheltered arms for the night.  As we approached the open ocean, we were definitely feeling the swells and the wind, but I mean, we had to go outside and take pictures of the seals...there were even cute little baby seals.

After returning to the comfort of the sound we decided to have our cheese-fest and enjoyed all four varieties we had purchased, along with some chutney and italian salami.  Just as we were breaking into the brie, the boat slowed down and an announcement was made that kayakers should report to the rear of the ship to get a kayak.  We didn't have to be asked twice.  After changing into our swimsuits, we collected our lifejackets and paddles and hopped into ocean kayaks to cruise around the cove we were anchored in.  It was still raining, but that proved to be a great help in convincing us to jump into the Sound since we were already soaking wet.  The water was reportedly 11 degrees celsius, which is about 52 degrees fahrenheit.   When everybody had returned their kayaks they set up a stepladder and told us to go for it and jump off the back of the boat.  Before I could even turn on the camera, Clark was climbing up the ladder.  I managed to get footage of her jumping off, and then I just took it in with me.  The water was...frigid.  After getting my wits about me, I swam right back to the ship and wrapped myself in one of the towels the crew had waiting for us.  We showered up and put on some clean clothes, and it was time for dinner.

One of the unintended side effects of jumping into the Sound was becoming somewhat of a rockstar.  Only half a dozen of us had taken the leap, and crew and passengers alike were awed by our daring feat.  Neither of us thought it was that big of a deal, but everyone else kept coming up and congratulating us.  Who knew? We randomly found ourselves seated next to an American couple that had lived in L.A. for 4 years, quit their jobs, sold their home, and taken off on an adventure to Australia and New Zealand.  He was from Boston, she was from Chicago, so we had plenty of things to talk about since we had both been to those cities.   We had a huge buffet dinner with traditional Kiwi food - sweet potatoes, roasted lamb with mint jelly, and some other excellent dishes, followed by 4 delicious desserts (I tried all of them). The next thing we knew, it was 10pm, and the hostess announced that the engines would be starting up at 6:15 the next morning...yikes.  We took that as our cue to head to bed.