Doubtful Sound (New Zealand Part 33)

The Fiordlands are New Zealand's largest national park and are part of the UNESCO World Heritage List. After taking a trip on Milford Sound, we also wanted to visit Doubtful Sound, which had been highly recommended to us by New Zealanders.

Since there is no direct road to get there, we had to take a ship from Manapouri, which took us across the lake of the same name.

Then we continued by bus over the Wilmot Pass. The road has no connection to other roads. It was New Zealand's most expensive road when it was built in 1965, and remains so today.

Originally, it was built for the construction and supply of a power station. Today, it is mainly used by tourist buses.

We made a photo stop at the outfall tunnel of the power station on the way there, because due to the fog, we couldn't see anything from any viewpoint. We were able to take in the view of Doubtful Sound from above only on the way back.

In the fjord itself, it was unfortunately a bit foggy and grey. So we saw the towering, densely forested coast with its waterfalls in not quite as beautiful lighting conditions. When we were outside, a stiff breeze blew around our noses.

At least that prevented the presence of "sandflies," which immediately swarmed around us at the dock. The females of these little pests need blood before laying their eggs. This results in a huge, annoyingly itchy spot compared to the size of the mosquito.

When we returned to Lake Manapouri, there were at least small patches of blue sky visible and the wind was not quite as cold.