Wednesday, February 14, 2024: Day 373 – It’s Doubtful

Today is Valentine’s Day. I asked Rob if he was going to give me flowers. “It’s doubtful.”

Is Milford Sound deeper than this sound? “It’s doubtful.”

Is the bag lunch on the ship going to be good? “It’s doubtful.”

Captain James Cook named this inlet Doubtful Harbor. He didn’t sail into the inlet because it looked a bit doubtful that they could get out. The winds are fierce, and the sea is rough. Winds blow in and few winds are blowing out.

Here are some cool facts:

The UK is exactly opposite from New Zealand…that is if one believes that the world is round!!! I DO!!
If one were to go straight west from Doubtful Sound, the first land that one would encounter is Argentina.
Government farms are managed by the government land corporation. Taxpayers own the farms so profits go to back to the taxpayers. This might be an idea for the USA to secure our food future as we have many foreigners buying up our farmland. It would also have an impact on subsidies.
Merino sheep are suspectible to rot on their hooves so great care is taken to prevent their feet from getting wet.
Merino wool is so fine that it is ⅓ the thickness of a human hair.
New Zealand Fur Seals were hunted almost to extinction. The furs were sent to the tanners in England. Tanning liquid for the seal had mercury in it before they knew of its detrimental effects. This resulted in the term “mad as a hatter”.

In order to get to the sound, we took a 45-minute bus ride, then a boat on Lake Manapouri, then another bus ride to board THIS boat.

This flag looked off to me as the New Zealand flag has a blue background. When I inquired, I was told that commercial boats are required to fly this flag.

BEFORE: We are ready to go and have seats on the top deck.

A massive power plant was built in Doubtful Sound. It mainly powers a nearby aluminum plant. There is excess power potential here but the south Island doesn’t need it all, and it is too difficult and expensive to send to the north island. They do not have any nuclear power plants.

Like other fiords in the area, Doubtful Sound contains two distinct layers of water that don’t mix. The top few meters is fresh water, fed by runoff from the surrounding mountains. Below this is a layer of salt water from the sea. The difference in refractive index between these two layers makes it difficult for light to penetrate so the water appears black.

We ride past an island that has been declared free from pests as they have eradicated all mammals from this island through the work of numerous volunteers. However, they remain diligent as deer, rats, and stoats can swim. Recently, a deer was sighted.