Breathtaking and its pouring rain....?

Some would utterly detest the rain but with rain brings dense vegetation,all shades of green, all shapes of leaves, all types of plants, shrubs, trees, and dense areas of moss's the pioneer species with many uses like the antiseptic properties of sphagnum that i've once found myself cleaning dishes with whilst being out into the rugged highlands of scotland! So back to rain it brings all this to the famous fiord lands-finally i'm in fiordland! Deep cove nestled into doubtful sound, where a large power station and a few hostels and wharf for boats is all the human infrastructure that is found at deep cove. No shops, everything carted over by boat. Catching the boat from manapouri this afternoon we had the hour boat journey over on the workers boat to west arm before just under half an hour in the car along a road that coast 5 dollars a centimetre and is 24km long, home for the next few days. Staying hear with the people who look after the place while the manager takes a well earned 7 day break. I've been very fortunate to having lucky timing and lovely people who have taken me hear.

So this morning i finished up at the farm, last job was marking the wool bales that were being transported away and then the bags were packed once again, we drove to manapouri-the first time i've driven an automatic-a few laughs along the way forgetting once you slot it into drive it really dose take of and the same with reverse! So i really am learning a lot of new things hear!! Even if it dose make for an amusing story along the way.

Manapouri is on the edge of lake manapouri on the west coast, its received the name from having new zealand's largest hydro power station witch is located also on the edge of lake manapouri's west arm in fiord land national park. This is an underground power station with generators in underground caverns witch have been excavated from rock 200meters below the surface of lake manapouri. Access to the station itself is either by a lift that travels down from the control building or by a 2 kilometre vehicle access tunnel. The station was fully operational in 1972, it took 8 years to construct, the water that flows out the station goes to deep cove; where i am now. Workers were housed by the ship Wanganella witch was moored at deep cove. Other workers were acomadated by building hostels witch where handed over to the outdoor education trust; deep cove hostels. And so now this is used by schools and kayaking groups coming in and other groups who stay hear; the warf allows for ships and boats to refuel and the company real journeys take people from manapouri by boat to west arm, then bus to deep cove, then out for a cruse/boat trip on the doubtful sound. There are also over night boats that go out and passengers stay on the boat for the night whilst also viewing doubtful sound. The unusual thing about the hydro station is that normally you would require a large dam to provide the water,but they took advantage of the natural 178 metre height difference between lake manapouri and the sea at deep cove.

Arriving at deep cove this evening very clouded over wet and miserable on the first second of looking, but once passed that you see incredible waterfalls and the greens of leaves is emphasised by the wet appearance. Already i am so glad to have come over to deep cove. Out for a walk this evening, the sounds of possums climbing up branches, the moon out and hundreds of stars; now i never expected this; I've had glow worms on my list of things to see and really its rite up at the top of the list of what i desperately wanted to see. Out for a walk and i could see things through the outlines of the trees and so i slowed down, then stopped, as i looked and i was asked what do you think this is......, at first i thought it was stars coming through the other side of the trees, but i realised there seemed to be a rock face and the sound of trickling water......so i said hopeing it was- is this glow worms!;THERE'sYOUR GLOW-WORMS!!! wow!!! now if you could have seen my face, it was dark but my face lit up! i could of stayed there all night! Incredible; the bug has a light at the end of it, witch then secretes this stringy substance to catch its prey. As it was on a rock face i was looking side onto them not from above so only saw there glowing lights. I cant ever think of trying to capture it behind a camera lens, that's something you just have to stumble across and keep it in your own eyes. It was that special something....not on a tour not with hundreds of people just out and about and its amazing what you'll find if you look!