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Early start from the lovely little campground called possum lodge, a real retro feel, in the washing room were original prints from 1950’s dress patterns.
Our Doubtful Sound cruise began at 8 am with a cruise across Lake Manapouri where we were able to go outside because equipped with several layers, hats and gloves and waterproof trousers, we were prepared. Compared to the weather to come
this was the lightest of showers . The cruise to the power station site took about 90 minutes and then transferred to coaches for the Wilmot Pass traverse, this rd only built to facilitate the building of the hydroelectric scheme some 60 yrs ago to fuel a smelting facility further south. Effectively it can supply all the electricity needs of South Island ( if the smelter didn’t need it).
The commentary across the pass by Andy our bus driver and through the rain forest was amongst the best I have ever sat through - he made a virtue of the rain and fog which made perfect sense. The most expensive road ever built in NZ at 20 dollars a centimetre!!
I won’t wax lyrical about the flora here but my interest in lichens and ferns has been ignited . A landscape that has remained unaltered ( apart from the road, power turbines under a mountain) for 50 million years, they tried to make Jurassic Park here but gave up after 3 months of rain! ( clue for tomorrow).
The theme of rain continued as we went aboard our Doubtful Sound cruise but we still really enjoyed and was worth the large price tag. It really is a wonderful place the Māori called Patea - the place of silence.
We finally retraced our steps and found ourselves back in Manapouri just before 3 in the afternoon, so set off for Milford Sound with the plan to camp somewhere remote before the tunnel. The picture shows our crowded site adjacent to the Eglinton River just us, the river ,the mountains ,a bottle of red wine, steak and an early night.
We had read that the drive to Milford Sound was as good as the Sound itself - what we had seen today suggested tomorrow was going to be quite something.
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