{"id":28640,"date":"2017-02-05T03:02:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-05T02:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/dans-immensite-du-doubtful-sound\/"},"modified":"2020-07-06T10:08:38","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T08:08:38","slug":"in-immensity-of-doubtful-sound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/en\/in-immensity-of-doubtful-sound\/","title":{"rendered":"In the immensity of Doubtful Sound"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Time has passed in Te Anau and here I am at the end of January 2017. A new year has started. I still have a few days of work<\/strong><\/a> at Te Anau Lakeview Holiday Park and at the Kepler Restaurant before hitting the road. Four months in Fiordland already. With its ups and downs but still a breathtaking landscape. I have not had the opportunity to return to Doubtful Sound since my short visit<\/strong><\/a> last September and that saddens me a little. For my last few days in the area I therefore decide to offer myself a crossing of Doubtful Sound in a Kayak. Located on the southwest coast of the South Island, Fiordland is a gigantic 12,120 km2 national park, making it one of the largest in the world. The park is made up of steep mountains, deep lakes and many fjords, the best known of which are Milford Sound<\/strong><\/a> and Doubtful Sound. Doubtful Sound located west of Manapouri, some 20 km from Te Anau is one of the largest fjords in the region. Relatively difficult to access, it is therefore less visited and still retains a mysterious, calm and wild atmosphere. The sound was discovered by James Cook in 1770. Not being sure of its practicability, the explorer named the place Doubtful Harbor, which means “uncertain” or “doubtful” in English.<\/p>

The company Go Orange offers daily expeditions and crossings of 2, 3 and 5 days. I let myself be tempted by the two-day expedition. To reach the fjord from Te Anau, a bus picks me up at dawn to take me to Manapouri, about 40 minutes away by bus. This is an opportunity to see the sunrise. At the small town’s pontoon, all participants embark on the same boat, whether kayakers for one day, two days, five days or people who have chosen the day cruise. A good hour’s boat trip across Lake Manapouri allows me to embrace the grandeur and beauty of the lake. The boat docks at West Arm at the end of the lake where a bus is waiting for us to take us on a small gravel road through the mountains. Passing Wilmot Pass where the view of the fjord has not changed since the last time I came and arrival at Deep Cove, the beginning of the fjord.<\/p>

Apart from a small inn and the hangars of tourism companies, there is no accommodation in the fjord. Our guide, Matthew, half Maori, half German, explains the safety instructions and provides us with the equipment and information necessary for kayaking in the fjord and during the expedition. Around the company hangar, Wekas \u200b\u200b(New Zealand birds unable to fly) attracted by food come to rummage through the bags. The groups for each expedition do not exceed eight people and the atmosphere is good. Matthew gathers his group, organizes us in groups of two and we equip our boat. Tents, camping gear as well as spare clothes and two-day food disappear in the hatches in the front, rear and middle of the kayak. Launching and departure in the main arm of the fjord. The weather is magnificent, sometimes covered by large cloud masses.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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