Doubtful Sound: A 2-night Journey through New Zealand’s Hidden Fiord
Highlights
Dolphins surfing the waves
Freezing polar plunges in the icy fiord
Ultimate Relaxation - no signal paradise!
Scenery, scenery, scenery
Doubtful Sound / Patea is found deep in the heart of Fiordland National Park and boasts a pristine wilderness that captivates the soul with its rugged beauty and serene atmosphere. It is nestled along the coast, halfway between the more well-known Milford Sound (Doubtful Sound is sometimes affectionately known as Milford Sound’s “moodier older sister”) and the even more rugged and remote Dusky Sound, where Elle had already visited on a pretty amazing conservation mission. A sprawling waterway made up of a main fiord with various “Arms” and islands make it the perfect landscape for exploring the true untouched beauty of this area of New Zealand.
Elle and I were lucky enough to score a last minute spot on a two-night cruise aboard the Fiordland Navigator, operated by Realnz, sharing a quad bunk-style room with our good friends Jess and Andy.
Getting There
The majority of other people on our tour had opted for the bus transfer from Queenstown, which essentially gives you a “door-to-fiord” experience, taking you straight from the central tourist hub all the way to the breathtaking scenery of Doubtful Sound. As we live on the outskirts of Queenstown, we chose to self transfer to Manapouri to give ourselves a little more freedom on the first leg of the journey.
Once we reached the shores of Lake Manapouri, we headed to check in to grab our boarding cards. We had a quick nosy around the gift shop and pinned a few items in our minds to buy on the return journey.
By 12:30pm it was time to board the (first) boat to take us across Lake Manapouri to West Arm. From there, a bus took us over the Wilmot Pass to our final destination - Doubtful Sound. Although this sounds like quite a lot of travel before you even get to the cruise, it really doesn’t feel like it as each leg has it’s own share of stunning scenery. The bus journey over the Wilmot Pass, in particular, should get a notable mention. From the top of the pass, our bus driver let us disembark for a break and we were treated to a gorgeous view over the valley, down to Doubtful Sound (apparently it is often clouded over at this point so we were lucky!).
Day 1 - Dinner and Dolphins
We arrived ready to board the Fiordland Navigator around 2ish and were shortly welcomed by our crew for the next two days. The team consisted of the skipper (Dave), chef (Cesar), general crew and our nature guide (Brock) who was going to teach us all about the fiords and surrounding nature we would encounter.
Within the first hour, we were treated to our first (of many) refreshments - freshly baked cheese scones - and after quite a long journey these were very welcome. We followed this with our first bottle of “champagne”* because it wouldn’t be a trip without some bubbles to kick it off.
*really, it was the New Zealand local equivalent “methode traditionelle” which basically means it uses the same method as they use to make champagne but isn’t from the champagne region.
We sailed up the center of Doubtful Sound, before heading up Thompson Arm to the right of Secretary island and out towards the Tasman Sea. This was where we had our first Magical Moment as, out of nowhere, a pod of dolphins appeared. It was spectacular to see them dancing and jumping along with us as the vessel cut through the water. Our nature guide informed us that only around 30% of the trips will see any dolphins, so again we were feeling like luck was on our side for this weekend!
As we reached the Tasman Sea, we definitely started to feel a change in the environment. The water switched from calm and tranquil waters to a fairly rocky ride as soon as we left the shelter of Secretary Island. On the horizon, we could see some pretty gnarly looking swells and, as Brock spoke of the first explorers encountering this land, you couldn’t help but admire their bravery to face the stormy seas. I, on the other hand, was quite happy to return to the shelter of Doubtful Sound while my seasickness tablets worked overtime to keep me feeling level.
As we retreated into the safety of Thomson Arm, we were treated to a pretty spectacular sunset on the horizon behind us. Once the sun had gone down, we headed back into the main cabin for a phenomenal dinner cooked for us by the chef and crew. It really blew my mind how the team were able to create such a delicious feast in such a small space; the crew function like a well-oiled machine and it’s really impressive how they manage to flawlessly tend to all the guests while continuing with normal sailing operations.
We docked up for the night in Precipice Cove at the end of Bradshaw Arm and, after a few bottles of wine and a lovely, educational nature talk from Brock, retreated to our cozy beds for our first overnight on the boat.
Day 2 - Exploring the Sound and Sea
We woke up the next day for an 8am breakfast call. As we had sailed in after sunset the previous night, we missed the stunning scenery of our sleep spot and we were all blown away as we admired the serene cove over our pastries and barista coffees.
After breakfast, it was time for something we had all been looking forward to - water activities. On the overnight cruises, you have a choice of participating in either kayaking or a tender craft exploration. Jess, Andy and Elle all opted to kayak, but as I still have a fractured shoulder I went for the tender boat. You explore the same area on both, but the tender craft has the added bonus of commentary from one of the crew and I learnt lots of fun facts about the ship history and the surrounding flora and fauna.
During the water activities, we had our next Magical Moment when the kayak group spotted a lone seal spinning around and playing in the water. Although we made sure to keep a reasonable distance, our friend seemed to be completely unbothered by the interruption and continued to splash around for as long as we were there. A quick check with our nature guide, Brock, confirmed that this was pretty typical behaviour of the seals as they show off their skills in the water.
We headed back to the main ship for a quick warm up coffee and cake (the refreshments just kept coming!) but the water activities weren’t quite done yet. The captain announced over the ship speaker that the swimming pool was now open - i.e. Doubtful Sound itself. Now, Elle and I are not the type to miss out on a once in a lifetime experience, no matter how cold, so we high-tailed it to our dorm to throw on our swimming costumes. When I tell you this water was COLD. It was less of a swim and more of a polar plunge, but we still went back for seconds. Second time around, the crew let us jump from the higher ledge of the boat. I don’t think my jump was too graceful, but it was definitely a lot of fun.
With the excitement of water activities behind us, we headed for some very needed hot showers while the boat started back up on it’s journey around the fiord. The plan for today was to head into the Crooked Arm (named after it’s unique shape), and then head up the other side of Secretary Island, out to the Tasman Sea again and back around Bauza Island. They say Doubtful Sound is even more spectacular in bad weather, and lucky for us, there was a bit more rain on Day 2 than Day 1. This meant that some of the temporary waterfalls had started to fall which made for some breathtaking scenery on the way up Crooked Arm.
During this leg of our journey, Brock kept us entertained with lots of information about the history of Doubtful Sound, including the name itself. Doubtful Sound is actually a misnomer - the site was given the name Doubtful Harbour by explorer Captain Cook who was “doubtful” whether his ships could navigate in and out safely, and was latterly renamed to Doubtful Sound by whalers and sealers. However, it’s not a sound at all! Doubtful Sound is actually a series of U-shaped valleys formed by ancient glaciers - making it a fiord (or fjord).
Another exhilarating trip out towards the Tasman Sea saw our third Magical Moment when multiple albatross surfed the skies around the boat. You wouldn’t have been able to tell that the seas were rough as they seemed to effortlessly glide through the air above us. We then headed back in towards shelter to find our sleep spot in First Arm, aptly named for being the first arm you come across when entering from the Tasman. Again, by this point the sun was setting and so we resumed our now usual evening activities of great food, a couple of drinks and many, many games of bananagrams (highly recommend for a trip with friends!!). Brock hosted a second nature talk which covered the various animals and birds commonly found on the fiords and we got a chance to ask lots of questions about our trip so far.
Day 3 - The Sound of Silence
Our third and (sadly) final day started a little bit earlier as we had quite a lot to cover before heading back to Deep Cove Wharf. By this point we had started to feel like true sea-farers and weren’t quite ready for our ship experience to end. We navigated back out of First Arm where we were again able to see all the scenery we had missed in the dark the previous night. We headed all the way back down the fiord to the last arm before the wharf, known as Hall Arm.
We slowly made our way down the arm to the very end, where Brock pointed out the very dramatic features in the mountain. From this spot, you are able to clearly see a very clear fault line cutting through the mountainside; a tributary fault from the alpine fault. Throughout the trip, we saw evidence of seismic activity through the many tree avalanches that have occurred over the years. Although earthquakes in this region are fairly common, thankfully it is rare that they would have any significant impact on the sound. I definitely wouldn’t want to be around there during some of the more sizeable tree avalanches we saw!
It was also in this spot that we had our fourth and final Magical Moment. The cruise have made a staple of running an activity called “The Sound of Silence”. This is where all engines and generators are turned completely off, and patrons are instructed to find a place to be completely still. No photos, no movement, no noise. This is where you can truly appreciate the majesty of this incredible area. The main aspect that stands out for Doubtful Sound in comparison to its sister experience, Milford Sound, is the rugged remoteness. On Milford, although beautiful, you are generally trailing other boat operators through the usual sites. On Doubtful Sound, it felt like we could be the only people in the world. The Sound of Silence was definitely one of those moments, and we all sucked in the fresh air and sounds of nature before our trip back to reality.
Finally, we made our way back to Deep Cove Wharf to start our return journey back to Queenstown. We’ve had the privilege of having quite a few awesome experiences during our time in New Zealand, but I have to say there is something pretty special about Doubtful Sound. The sheer tranquility is unbeatable, and staying overnight gives you the opportunity to really soak up the beauty of this unique area.
We know as well as the next travel-obsessed person how hard it can be to fit everything there is to do into your trip itineraries, and this overnight is definitely on the more pricey side of what we would usually get up to. However, if you have a few extra days and a bit of budget to spare, I would absolutely recommend going for it!
Other Things to Know
Bring insect repellent! Sandflies can be about at any time of year in hoards, and boy do they bite. This is especially important if you plan on doing the kayaking or tender crafting activities.
Take your sealegs (or ginger chews). I suffer quite badly from sea sickness and so anti-nausea tablets are a must for me. The boat can get pretty rocky at times, and you don’t want to have your experience spoiled by feeling rubbish.
Earplugs. While they did provide us with earplugs on board, it’s best to take your own just in case. Due to the nature of the cruise, the generator needs to stay on all night to keep all the lights and various electrics going. Depending on where you’re sleeping this can be a little bit noisy. If you’re noise sensitive like me, I’d recommend a good pair of earplugs to help you get to sleep.
No Signal - while Elle and I LOVE going no signal/no tech, we understand that others might want a bit of warning. If you do want a bit of media during your trip (maybe some music for the bus journeys or a film for your evening) remember to download it before you head off.
