And tonight’s nocturnal disturbance was the battery going in the smoke detector, so that it bleeped annoyingly every few seconds. We finally braved the cold in order to disconnect it. Another day, another Sound; this time Doubtful Sound. Typically, although it has been dry all night, it begins to rain at breakfast time. We walk down to the Real Journeys office and board our coach for Lake Manapouri. Randomly, the driver detours round a housing estate in order to deliver a letter. Then it is on board the MV Titiroa to cross the lake to West Arm. We manage to avoid the lake’s thirty three islands. Next it is on a coach with Mike to Deep Cove. Actually it is on two coaches as the road have given way, so we have to walk across a bridge at one point. This road is only accessible by water at either end. We cross the snowy Wilmot Pass and see the HEP station. Most of the electricity generated is used at the aluminium smelting works near Invercargill.

We finally board the Fiordland Navigator for our cruise of Doubtful Sound. ‘Sound’ is actually a misnomer – blame Captain Cook. Technical a sound is a V shaped inlet, created by river action, whereas a fiord is a glacially cut U shape, so this is a fiord. The ‘Doubtful’ part of the name was because Cook was doubtful that the prevailing wind would allow vessels to get back out of the ‘sound’ easily. We tuck into our complimentary Mitre Peak lunch from yesterday. I have never seen such huge sandwiches. They were about three inches thick, making eating them delicately a bit of a challenge. They were accompanied by similarly large-scale muffins.

Our geography field trip continues. We sail up Crooked Arm, which on its own is a similar size to Milford Sound. Today we can enjoy a sound that we can actually see, as the rain stops and there is even occasional sunshine. There are also rainbows, which, inevitably, are not done justice by the photography. The majority of our fellow travellers are American university students. Some are wearing more make-up than I have possessed in a life-time. Others are clad in tee-shirts and thin cardigans – it is three degrees, still others sleep the cruise away. At one point the captain cuts the engine and generator ‘so we can listen to nature’s silence’ for about ten minutes. This was never going to go well, especially as the rain begins again during the process.

Our return trip proceeds without incident and we are hoping that our journey tomorrow will not be impeded by snow. as we head still further south and east. Today there was snow between Queenstown and Te Anau, so we are only narrowly escaping the weather.