From time to time Lesley reminds me that since we left Edinburgh we have hardly been out of each other's company. That's fine by me, no gripes there! But duty calls in Twizel, so while she works, the idea is for me to do a bit of travelling and sightseeing in between Invercargill and Milford Sound. Stocked up and self-contained in the van, I get to places we missed in 1984. Highlight is the drive to and wandering around the foreshore at Milford Sound, with a short hike en-route at The Divide, the watershed between the West and East Coast draining rivers. The road from Te Anau was washed out last time. And yes, Mitre Peak is really there, it is not a tourist promotion on calendars and guide books, and it's not hidden in cloud and rain today. In real life its omnipresence leaves an indelible memory with the traveller.

On Saturday 7th, with Lesley having completed her Twizel duties, we drive Queenstown to Manapouri to join the RealJourneys Doubtful Sound Cruise. While there are day trips to Doubtful Sound, the necessary drive to Manapouri and remoteness of Doubtful Sound make sense of staying overnight on the 'Fiordland Navigator'.

The 90 odd folk waiting to alight onto the first ferry across Lake Manapouri are, like us, cheery holidaymakers with a buzz of anticipation of an adventure to come. Margaret (as we later ascertained with an exchange of e-mail addresses) is a bubbly New Zealander with a ready laugh who makes easy conversation while husband Keith buries himself in a book. They are from Hamilton, North Island. During the next 24 hours we get to know them and Yorkshire couple who also merit an address exchange……sitting in the ship's dining room at a long table is a sure way to get to know people. Muriel, Lesley's mother, was an expert at this sort of thing and after a cruise had added a few more names to her Christmas Card list.

But what of this stunning area of natural beauty that we have come to see? It's slightly disappointing that we can't visit the underground power station at Manapouri which is closed for maintenance. In 1970 Manapouri was the subject of great objection by a nationwide NZ campaign against building dams and raising the lake water levels by 30 metres as part of a proposed hydro-electric scheme in to supply electricity to the new aluminium smelter at Bluff near Invercargill. The nationwide objection to the scheme was the beginning of the now powerful environmental lobby in New Zealand and they succeeded in achieving their objective. The hydro scheme was still built, but underground with a 10km tailrace tunnel to Doubtful Sound. The project was an outstanding feat of engineering. Apart from unsightly pylons, there is not much to see, and it is unlikely that the pylon run across the hills would be allowed nowadays.

Our bus transports us from the West Arm of Lake Manapouri across the Wilmot Pass Road to Deep Cove on Doubtful Sound. The driver jokes that he gets paid $ 50 for every sandfly squashed. I remark to him that he must be a rich man. We have taken the precaution of buying a little bottle of 'Goodbye Sandfly', which 'defends your skin naturally'. A few of the passengers come onto deck wrapped up with hat and gloves either against a chilly headwind or a hungry sandfly population…probably both. Actually, it wasn't as bad as reports made it out to be, a bit buggy when we stop to have a close look at the native bush a few metres from the shoreline. Nobody wore the classic head protector so useful in Knoydart, though Lesley had hers packed in her bag.

While there are no side trips, we have the chance to go onto a tender and look at the bush a bit more closely, then a swim. The water wasn't that cold really, and it was mostly fair skinned middle aged and older European men who partake of this activity, though give Margaret her due she jumped in as well. Lesley took the photos.

For us the highlight was reaching the entrance to the Sound, where the heaving sea and rollers breaking on rocky islets remind us that we are at the Tasman Sea itself. A colony of seals lie quite happily on rocks as the skipper edges the 'Navigator' to what seems a perilously close distance of a couple of metres from the rocks. Cameras click and videos roll.

That evening over a sumptuous buffet we get to know four of our fellow passengers. It's interesting that 'downsizing' is a common bond between us. Purely by coincidence - or is it - our four new aquaintances and ourselves enjoy the great outdoors and walking in the hills. Yes, and just a touch of being out of your comfort zone as well!

That night the 'Navigator' powered down its engines in Doubtful Sound. The full moon rose illuminating calm dark waters in ripples of silvery sheen. Our strained sinews cast eyes up to silhouetted summits. A distant torrent leaped a thousand precipitous feet down dark bush clad slopes, the night's silence complimented by nature's cascade.

I close this blog at 5.30pm on Tuesday 10th, in the Asure St John Motel, Milton, about 55 kms/45mins south of Dunedin. It's comfy enough, and clean, if a bit on the small side, really just one room and a shower room/toilet. There's a two ring electric cooker and microwave, okay to get by with but with clever use of pots and pans Lesley has already done a three course meal!