Wet? Just a little

Uploaded by ladyhedda.

We've just returned from an amazing kayak trip on Doubtful Sound. We decided we wanted to get away from all the cruise ships ploughing up and down, and find our own spot of tranquility on the water, so we opted to do an overnight trip with Fiordland Wilderness Experiences.
The trip was everything we had hoped, and more..... They really care about the environment, with one of their objectives being to put the environment before profit, which is something that is so important in an ecosystem as fragile as Fiordland.
We got up with the sun, dismantled our soggy tent and bundled our necessaries into a bag and headed off for our 6.30am pickup. The first part of the trip was a boat journey across Lake Manapouri to the West Arm. The journey took just under an hour and gave us time to appreciate the distance that we were travelling for the privilege of spending a night in the wilderness. After the boat we had a short ride over Wilmot Pass for our first sighting of a very grey and rainy Doubtful Sound. There were a total of 8 of us, including Adrien our guide and the only experienced sea kayaker among us!
We took some time to pack the boats - in go the tents, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, food, wine, cooking stuff and a change of clothes. The boats were fantastic sea kayaks, with dry storage areas for our gear and a rudder in the stern.
We'd been told that Fiordland 'comes alive' in the rain, yeah yeah yeah.... Well, it does! The volume of water descending over the land into the sound was incredible. The sounds are saltwater, but due to the immense quantities of rain that fall there is a freshwater layer of a few meters floating on top of the salt water. This freshwater layer is dark with tannins from the earth and prevents light from penetrating far into the saltwater layer. This makes the sounds unique as lots of deep water species live close to the surface - the majority of life is only 20m deep.
We saw penguins, and a playful fur seal who can only have been a year old. He was so friendly and curious - swimming on his back right next to the boat, ducking under us and popping out the other side. I could have reached out and touched him.
At night we slept in our tents beside a small river and listened to the calls of a male Kiwi. My own little slice of heaven.