There are 14 sounds in Fjordland, this is called Doubtful because Captain Cook (in 1770) doubted he would be able to get out.  Paul and I had a big discussion about this, in our normal manner, me saying that he wouldn’t go in because he wouldn’t know if he could anchor, turn around etc.  Paul said the opposite.  We were both wrong as Cook thought that he would only get out on an easterly wind – rare in this part of the world.  A Spaniard – Alessandro Malaspina, finally explored the inlet in 1793.  Fjordland is a bit f a giveaway as to the sounds origin: glaciated, now flooded, valleys.  Unlike the Southern Alps the rocks here are granite and very hardwearing, so the steep cliffs persist.  The rounded hills are a result of glacial carving.  Can you see they are rounded.

The pictures ain’t that great as it absolutely …. it down.  But this did mean that there were many waterfalls.  This is one of the better pictures.

This area is one of the wettest in the world and I can believe that.  This is the first land that those westerly’s hit after leaving South America.  The rain is dumped here on the seaward side of the mountains, the land to the east is in a rain shadow.  Annual rainfall for Manapouri is 1.1m yr, West Arm of Lake Manapouri 3.8 m yr and at Deep Cove 5.3 m yr.  I recon it is all falling today.  And now a bit of oceanography.  All this water that soaks onto the mountains and then flows into the fjords is fresh, it is less dense than seawater, so floats as a layer on the water surface and only partially mixes with the seawater beneath.

We poked our nose out into the Tasman Sea and back in again.  This  is a fur seal colony on some of the rocks (the Nee Islets) near the entrance to the sound.

Getting cold.

Heading back into the murk.  Cold but not seriously so and finishing my book.

The dining room.  After tying up to buoy in Precipice Cove – out of the 40knot winds and rain reduced to torrential drivel, it was time to go on a boat trip.  About three quarters of the party opted to kayak.  Madness.

Navigator in the rain.  Chef sets out dinner.

Seriously cold now, I have on all the layers I bought with me except my sodden jacket.