codex nocturna: August 2012

Milford sound or Doubtful sound?

Milford Sound

Next stop was the town of Te Anau, which is the last "big" town center before you head off either to Milford or Doubtful Sound (neither of which is a sound , but a fjord - a valley carved by a glacier and filled by the sea).

My Dutch friend, always hard to impress, told me she drove past and went "meh", and that they are probably similar enough that it is pointless to do both. She said "choose Doubtful because Milford Sound is too commercialized".

Indeed, Milford Sound is the more famous between the two. According to the hostel owner, this is because the road to Milford Sound was funded by the government and for this same reason is is being pushed hard as a tourist destination.
I don't know if that's true.
Milford sound is also the more accessible of the two - allowing day trips from Queenstown.

As it turned out, I was lucky - end of season prices for the overnight cruise to Doubtful made it cheaper than overnight to Milford.
However, I still felt that if I go to Doubtful only, I will be missing out something everyone talks about. I compromised by taking a kayaking trip to Milford.
Both were dramatic, gorgeous and fun.

Milford - is easier to get to, the 'hills' are sharper and steeper. But because we were on a kayak we didn't go as far as we did on the boat, but we did see a seal up close.

Doubtful - is bigger and I found in some ways more dramatic than Milford. Due to the weather we didn't go as far as the seal colony, and we didn't see dolphins while kayaking (I am told this is a 50-50 chance as Doubtful Sound does have a pod of bottlenose dolphins).
My Dutch friend was correct though - they are similar enough, so if you are pressed for time or money it is hard to justify both. Milford is closer and better for a day trip, but I liked Doubtful better for the entire fjord cruise experience.

The cruise itself?
One of the best experiences I had in New Zealand so far!
In fact, just getting there was amazing! Minopouri lake with it's view to Te Anau and the snow covered mountains was gorgeous, so much that for a moment I forgot we were on the lake and thought we must be in Doubtful Sound already!
You are being fed well while on the ship, almost too well. When you get there, there are muffins and coffee all the way until the evening where you are served a real feast.

The end of season, despite the discount was not a busy time so most people got to be the only ones in their room. My room for 4, was occupied by just me and another girl.

Despite positive weather forecasts, it rained a lot while I was on the ship, and while I was kayaking... The good thing about it that my pants were already wet enough I didn't mind doing jumping off the ship for a swim (yeah I didn't bring my swimming suit, because who is crazy enough to be swimming in that cold???)
The other good thing about the rainfall was... hundreds of spectacular waterfalls. According to the nature guide, they don't measure rainfall in mm, but in meters, and the Doubtful Sound gets about 5 meters per year! (I believe the kayaking guide at Milford said 6 meters per year, but either way that's a heck lot!).