New Zealand: Day 29

Gold rule

January 31, 2013

The skies were blue and partly cloudy with fat mid-altitude cumulus clouds and high altitude cirrocumulus and cirrostratus clouds, about half and half clouds and sky. It already was warm, and I could tell the New Zealand "heat wave" would continue for another day. I later learned that temperatures actually reached the 90s today, which is not unusual for a New Zealand summer. Not common, but not unusual. In Doubtful Sound, however, my destination for the day, it was completely overcast and foggy with a low cloud ceiling. Temperatures were more moderate, ranging in the 70s. The weather gods had not heeded my request for a day of good weather for my visit to Doubtful Sound, or if they had, their answer was "no".

Getting to Doubtful Sound was a small adventure in itself. A bus picked me up at the front door of the B&B where I was staying, and after picking up a few others, we had a short 20 km drive to Manipouri. After we arrived, we joined a number of others on a ship that carried us across Lake Manipouri. Having crossed the lake, the 80 or so of us got onto buses and were transported to the ship that was to carry us around Doubtful Sound.

Doubtful Sound originally was named Doubtful Harbour by Captain James Cook, the first European to accurately map New Zealand, because he was uncertain whether a ship to enter the inlet would be able to leave. Therefore, he did not attempt to enter, but because his duty was to chart the new British colony, he duly noted and named it. The name was later changed to Doubtful Sound because the inlet was determined not to be useful as a harbor.

Doubtful Sound is the second most popular tourist destination in New Zealand after Milford Sound which I visited on Day 19 and Day 20. I was fortunate to have good weather in Milford Sound, for which I am grateful. I was not as blessed for my visit to Doubtful Sound. The area is beautiful, to be sure; that much is undeniable. But I wanted to see Doubtful Sound in a particular light (pun somewhat intended) so that I could photograph it in a certain style. I did take many photographs nonetheless, but they are dark, moody, atmospheric and mysterious. I have included a few samples below.

There was a time in my life when such photographs matched my outlook, but I have changed greatly in the intervening years. These days my outlook is much more cheery, sunnier (pun, again, somewhat intended), and I wanted my photographs to reflect that style. However, as I have mentioned in other daily journal entries, I will cheerfully accept what I am given; I will always make the best of the circumstances presented to me. I sought to capture the moody and atmospheric day in Doubtful Sound. Perhaps some gems are to be found in that dark and misty day.

Doubtful Sound
 
Doubtful Sound
 
Doubtful Sound
 
Waterfall in Doubtful Sound
 
A typically dismal day in Doubtful Sound

After several hours in Doubtful Sound, we returned to shore, and our buses took us to visit the Manipouri Power Station, New Zealand's Hoover Dam. The comparison is not completely accurate. Hoover Dam blocked a small waterway and created a large body of water, Lake Powell, to serve as the source of energy. The Manipouri Power Station uses the height differential between Doubtful Sound and Lake Manipouri to create energy. A dam is involved, but it is nowhere nearly as massive as the Hoover Dam. The engineering ingenuity involved in the Manipouri hydroelectric project was drilling down through more than 250 feet of hard rock to create the power plant. The entire bus fit in the tunnel drilled into the rock, and we spiraled down over 200 feet into the earth where we viewed the massive turbines. I was the only Caucasian in the group, so the others listened politely to the brief presentation, took photographs of themselves with the turbines in the background, and then returned to the bus. My father is a civil engineer, so I was more interested in the project. I talked a little bit with the fellow who gave the presentation, and then joined the others on the bus.

And, lo, when we returned to Lake Manipouri and resumed our journey back to Te Anau, we saw sunlight again, and the cloud pattern was much like it was that morning. Doubtful Sound had created a sort of microclimate of inclement weather. The person on board the ship during the Doubtful Sound cruise who had given a running commentary noted that we were experiencing a typical day in Doubtful Sound. The area receives over six meters of rainfall each year! Sunny days are rare in Doubtful Sound. No wonder Captain Cook was so doubtful!

Because the cloud cover was so heavy, I decided against a return visit to the island of the glow worms (sounds like the title of a bad horror movie, doesn't it?) because I feared the clouds would interfere with the sunlight cast on the mountainsides during the Golden Hour. It did not seem like a good day for my photography fu. My suspicions proved to be correct, because the cloud cover only increased as the day waned.

I spent some time first trying, without success, to locate Internet service in Te Anau, and then using the broadband connection of my B&B's host to prune my email inbox. In contrast with the lavish feasts I had been having recently, I had a very simple, almost monastic dinner tonight. By chance I had found another convenience store that sold Dr. Pepper, so I had a nice cold can of Dr. Pepper with leftover mozzarella and garlic bread from Day 27. It was just as satisfying as those sumptuous meals. I worked on preparing my journal entries for the day, and then went to bed early because I have a long drive tomorrow. I tend to get highway hypnosis, so it's important that I am well-rested before a drive of any length.

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Last revised: August 27, 2015.

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