We’re not big on organised tours but you have to go that way for a trip to Doubtful Sound. They make it easy – accommodation pick up, bus transfers, boat across Lake Manapouri, then a tour of the West Arm hydro electric power station, which was built in the 60s.
Nerdy I know, but I do love a large engineering feat – there are so many plaques to read! (in a nutshell I learned that water drops 2 km from Lake Manapouri down to Deep Cove – the end point of Doubtful Sound). We drove down by another coach, and met another boat for 3 hours cruising the length of the sound (40km?) for another look at the Tasman sea.
Really glad we have been able to see both Milford and Doubtful Sounds (both actually glacier-carved fiords, not river-formed sounds) as they are different. Both beautiful – Milford is wild and steep, and towering, Doubtful was more serene and peaceful. Apparently it’s a thing – the further north you go the higher the peaks, the more sheer and steep the drops to the waterways. There endeth the geography lesson!
The Obligatory Blog 