Doubtful Sound & Queenstown

The allure of Doubtful Sound stole us away from Wanaka, but not wanting to drive Betty another eight hours on winding roads, we booked a trip with Real Journeys out of Queenstown. This remote wilderness in southwest NZ can only be reached by road to Manapouri, boat across Lake Manapouri, another road across the Wilmot Pass to board yet another boat to explore Doubtful Sound. The forested cliffs and islands provide habitat for rare birds, seals, dolphins and penguins. It rains two out of three days here; locals assured us it was a glorious day and only "misting" during our visit. Dolphins raced along the bow of the ship, waterfalls cascaded down the walls and seals rested on rocks at the edge of the open sea. In this Jurassic Park territory, cut by glaciers, one expected a pteradactyl to swoop through the cloud-shrouded canyons at any moment. The naturalist guide cut the boat engines and enforced three minutes of complete, camera-free silence in which we could witness our surroundings in a different way. Returning from the Sound, we visited the James Bond/Batman hide out, aka underground hydropower station and learned how the kiwis turn water into electricity. What an exceptional day.
For photos of Doubtful Sound click here.

In contrast, Queenstown is the Disneyland of New Zealand, offering extreme sports for the masses: paragliding onto boats, heli-biking, sky diving, bungy jumping and white water rafting. It's andrenaline-filled fun and outrageously expensive. One of our party, a certain 12 year old, had to take a death defying risk so we put the independent young lady on a jet boat. That's right, a power boat, traveling at 80km/hr in a narrow canyon performing 360 degree turns in 10cm of water. She proclaimed it "terrifyingly fun and wet!" See photo above.

Traveler's Note: Sandflies rule the west coast so insect repellant is a must. In a quasi-horror-movie moment, we stopped at a rest area near sand dunes to answer nature's call. No sooner did we leave Betty than our pants legs were black with biting insects! This was particularly problematic in the loo.

For photos of Queenstown click here.