We woke up to more rain... it is like being at home! I had been looking forward to this part of the trip so much, that I felt somewhat disappointed and reluctant to get up.

We had put all our stuff together the night before so with minimal effort we got ready and jumped in the car for a rainy drive to the centre in Manapouri.

We received a very warm welcome from Jo and were introduced to Reg and Cloudi, our driver and guide respectively. We introduced ourselves to one another and got to know the group a bit.

Our day trip started with a short minibus trip to the Adventurer 1, a small vessel that took us on a 40min trip across Lake Manapouri to the visitors centre. Here we changed into our paddling gear, including thermal liners and wetsuits. We hopped on a bus and our journey continued on an old bus, across the pass to deep cove, which sits at one of the tips of doubtful sound. We stopped at a couple of waterfalls for photos and the rain continued to fall.

After clear instructions from Cloudi, including the use of the OMG strap, we boarded the adventurer 2 and picked up the kayaks. Once loaded we set off, in the rain. A few minutes later we met a boat coming back in to moor, who radioed to tell us there were 50 knot winds coming up the sound. Reg thought he was joking but soon enough we saw the wind whipping up the deep valley, disturbing the water as it went. The two couples who were in kayaks were quickly brought back on board!

Reg and Cloudi were amazed and said they'd never seen conditions this bad, very reassuring! On the upside, when you've had this much rain you get some amazing waterfalls, and we did. There were falls that Reg hadn't seen in years and all the normal ones were flowing full force.

Once the wind subsided we headed up the sound in the boat to assess the weather. We saw two other kayak groups rafted up and bring blown back up the sound, they didn't look too happy! The rain continued to fall and the winds continued to blow. Cloudi used this chance to tell us about the flora and fauna of the area. It amazed me that there were so many thousands of big trees on stupidly steep cliff faces holding on, essentially through the moss layer, as there is solid rock underneath this.

We ended up mooring in a quieter area where we had lunch. A canopy was put up so Gary and I sat under its cover, getting splashed occasional when a wind caught the water laden roof! After this another attempt was had at putting the kayaks in the water but some more winds came through and the water was too choppy.

After heading into Hall Arm of the sound, the most sheltered arm, the kayaks were eventually put in the water. Having assessed the choppy nature of the water Gary and I decided I would be happier staying on the boat and cruising around rather than being scared silly and never wanting to paddle again! So, Gary hopped into a boat with Cloudi and headed off with the others. I stayed warmer and drier on the boat with an American Mom and daughter. We drank lots of tea and looked at loads of waterfalls, including one just under 1km high.

The spectacular scenery was not quite as I had imagined, you always see photos of this place on clear sunny days with mill pond still waters....! However it was incredible to see in its full water laden glory, partly covered in clouds, which parted occasionally to give you a glimpse of the peaks that towered over you.

The paddlers had great fun playing under a bluff, getting even wetter! They also did a race across the water and, naturally, Gary won! Once back on the boat with a hot drink inside and dryish clothes on we did our outward journey in reverse. Despite no paddling for me I had an amazing day and slept well :)