Monday 7th March - Doubtful Sound - Part 2
Aurora_b
Mike and Liz Downing
Wed 30 Mar 2011 09:15
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More photos of the trip back up Doubtful Sound from the
sea, and the Manapouri Hydro Power Station built deep underground in the middle
of a mountain.
 One the way back we headed up one of the several
arms of the Sound, Hall Arm, to see Commander
Peak
and stopped, turning everything
off, including engine and
generator, to listen to the sounds of the
NZ wilderness.
 Just more beautiful
views!
   We're back on land now and in the coach on our way
back through the mountains and temperate
rainforest, heading for the Wilmot Pass.
 These huge tunnels (there are 2) are the 6-mile
long tailraces where the water escapes into Deep Cove in
Doubtful Sound
after
passing through the power
station turbines.
 The 1.2 mile road tunnel spirals down within the
mountain to the generator hall 700ft down. Glad there
were no earthquakes today (no matter how safe
they say it is!).
 The huge power station machine hall, 700ft
underground in the mountain. The photo below gives
the
size of this hall. There are 7
generators and Manapouri is the
largest hydro power station in
NZ.
 This is how it works - simple really, and all down
to gravity. Just funnel water from the high lake
through pipes down to turbines
situated in the mountain below and
dump the used water in the
Sound below that. Only miles of tunnels and
halls to carve out of solid granite!
 The water descends into the power
station here in Lake Manapouri (called
penstocks).
 Pylons take the power 106 miles to an aluminium
smelter on the coast.
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