The Alex & The Eleanor + 1

Friday, January 11, 2008
Doubtful Sound to Queenstown
Hot. Just plain hot. But not humid

We are arisen at the crack of dawn, well 7am,  by the engines turning on as we get moving in the morning. We explore the sound a bit more, going down a very calm arm where the water is still enough to see reflections of the surrounding mountains in it. They turn off the engines entirely and we get to have a moment of utter quiet. Its very cool and waterfalls which I hadn’t even noticed before become very loud. Sadly that only last about 5 minutes and we are back to the rumble and grumble of the ship’s engine as we head back to the dock and then to the bus and then to the other boat. It’s a bit sad we had such glorious weather as the sound is suppose to be quite amazing when its raining – all sorts of temporary waterfalls flood the mountainsides. But I am not going to complain too much about beautiful sunny days.

On our way back to QT we stop at Te Anau, which is cute, quaint little town, with an equal number of tourist and outdoor gear shops. It’s the starting out point for the a lot of tramps around the area, but really has the back end of beyond feeling down pat. We explore what there is to explore and have lunch and head back to QT. It’s the hottest its been so far when we get back – makes me miss all those cold rivers we have been playing in, but we wander and explore the town more and pack some and head out for our final dinner. We were going to go back to Fishbone, but are recommended instead The Boardwalk, which has a fairly similar menu, all seafood, but is slightly nicer, and is right on the lakefront. We have to wait a bit, but the food is quite good, and there is great people watching – Friday night really brings out an interesting crowd and we entertain ourselves trying to guess the nationality of different people. We get oysters to start again, this time Nelson dredged oysters, which are different then any I have had before, and good, but I am not sure I would seek them out again. I have a scallop stir fry as my main, which is quite tasty, as is Alex’s fish and chips. Sadly no Pavlova so we head back to the hotel and try to get a good nights sleep.