We woke up early and drove to Manapouri from where our Real Journey’s cruise would leave. We were paranoid that our GPS was completely wrong and didn’t know exactly how long it would take us but after a 20 minute drive we arrived two hours early. We sat by the dock playing hearts and rubbing ourselves with insect repellent to fend off the sand flies. We were warned there would be a lot of sand flies in the Sound so we had purchased more. It was sunny when we first arrived at the dock but when it was finally time to leave it was raining.

Beata and I on the boat on the lake

The first part of the journey was crossing Lake Manapouri, where there were spectacular views already. There was a heavy mist lying low in the surrounding and it felt like a landscape from Jurassic Park. Then we had to take a bus to the fjord. (Doubtful Sound isn’t really a sound which is made by rivers but a fjord made by glaciers). I spent the twisty drive flicking sand flies and putting their carcasses into a napkin.

Lake Manapouri

Once on the overnight boat we were disappointed with the size our room which was tiny with 2 of the narrowest sets of bunk beds and a communal showers. At least the communal area which was also the dining room was really nice and all we’d have to do in our room was sleep. They also liked to feed us we got muffins as soon as we boarded, then soup, then dinner and desert and free coffee and tea all day.

Hendrik, Simon, Clementine, and Beata

The fjords were prettier than I thought they would be and were remarkable in the weather we were having. It was cloudy then sunny then rainy; I even saw a rainbow but was not fast enough to get a picture. Apparently the fjords get 6-8 meters of water and it rains 200 days out of a year so we were lucky to get the sun.

Sun!

We were able to see seals ad even got a glimpse of a penguin but they were very shy. Our activities were postponed because of the weather and just as we were supposed to do them again the rain cleared and the sun came out. We could choose between kayaking and going on a boat with a nature guide. I went on the boat which was interesting and I could take lots of nice pictures of the boat and the boys who went kayaking.

Hendrik Kayaking

After our dinner buffet we had a slide show presentation about the native animals of New Zealand. We learned that animals which were brought over were responsible for the extinction of many native animals and even people like the Maori were responsible for the extinction of the Moa. A huge problem in New Zealand are possums which are quick to kill kiwis since they are flightless and can’t escape. Possums are a pest and there are lots of them and carcasses along the road are a common sight, and therefore, they are nicknamed squashums. Possum hair is also very warm, and therefore, the hair is used to make sweaters, hats, ect. People get paid to collect possums and then they are put thorough “possum-pluckers.”

The boat

Then we played Clue until it was bed time. Unfortunately I was stuck with a top bunk, but I ended up sleeping more than I thought I would.

It was someone’s bright idea (not mine) to go on a hike in the morning for the view of the glaciers and the ocean all in one. The hike was steep and seemed steeper hung-over, and when I finally dragged myself to the top I was greeted by swarms of sand flies. I’m sure the view would have been amazing but all we saw were clouds. We didn’t have any repellent so we spend a few minutes slapping ourselves and then hiked down again. We were not sad to leave the glacier region as it had left us very disappointed.

Simon was always way ahead of the rest of us and took pictures of the stragglers

We found a pretty beach to have lunch on but the minute we sat down we were swarmed with sand flies. They are like mosquitoes but their bite stays for much longer and it itches like crazy. We ate as fast as possible to minimize the sand flies’ feasting, but they would bite any showing skin and our ankles suffered. Back in the car it was also full of sand flies so I made it into a sport to kill them. At least they stopped bothering to eat on us in the car but fluttered around the windows so it was easy to shoo them out or squash them.

Haast Pass waterfall

We drove through Haast pass and stopped at many waterfalls, it was pretty but it had nothing on Arthur’s Pass. I enjoyed the blue pools the most and wished it was warmer so we could have swam in them, since they had the most stunning blue color. We made it to Queenstown in the evening and Simon and Hendrik were disappointed to find out that the bungee/ rafting combo left at 8:00 AM and all the booking offices were closed, so they were worried they wouldn’t be able to do what they had wanted again, and therefore they were very anxious to get up early and hope to still be able to go.

The pictures don't do justice to the Blue Pools