The next day we hopped on a cruise to explore the sound more closely. The weather was more iffy but wow was it gorgeous. Given that the water stayed several thousand feet deep right next to shore the boat was able to maneuver in close under many of the numerous waterfalls and next to the animal life. We actually got to see Penguins! Penguins! Cool and cute when they hop about. Alas it was raining so no good pics to show you.
After the cruise we hopped on a bus and headed for Te Anau. Te Anau is a small town on a big lake by the same name that serves as a base for the area. It was to serve as our rest stop to recover between our two hikes. Go hot tubs!
Anyhow, the next day we started our journey to see Milfords big brother - Doubtful Sound. Doubtful is so remote you need to take a bus to a boat - ride for 50 minutes and then hop on another bus for 30 minutes, before arriving at yet another boat to see the sound. The cool thing is that after Milford it is the next most accessible fiord along NZ's beautiful SW coast.
While we weren't expecting anything from the journey to the sound we were amazed by the beauty of Lake Manapouri that we crossed along the way. See below for just one of the many amazing views we were treated to.
Given that Doubtful is many times the size of Milford and much more remote it has much more of a feel of a pristine wilderness. We went with a small tour operator that allowed us to cruise the sound for hours. So pretty - countless waterfalls, hanging valleys, sheer cliffs, seals, and mountains mountains mountains. cool stuff.
Doubtful from above.
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