Doubtful Sound Kayak
Departing from Te Anau daily during the warmer months
Dates
September - MayDuration
6.40am - 5.30pmAvailability
10 people per dayPricing
$399.00 - $459.00ppGuest Ratings
5/5Tour Overview
Transport to Manapōuri
Tour reporting time at our office in Te Anau is at 6.40am, here you will be fitted with kayaking gear before heading out on your Doubtful Sound kayaking experience. Parking is available at our office for the day.
Meet at the Tracknet office - our office is located at the Te Anau Lakeview Holiday Park & Motels, 77 Manapouri-Te Anau Highway, Te Anau.
We will transfer you by mini coach to Pearl Harbour, Manapōuri to the awaiting vessel. Your journey is packed with adventure and scenery all the way!
Cruise Manapōuri
A 30 km cruise across Lake Manapōuri to West Arm at the head of the lake. Lake Manapōuri is a very beautiful lake with its many wooded islands, coves, sandy beaches, and mountainous surroundings.
Stopover at the informative West Arm Visitor Centre to change into your wetsuits.
Wilmot Pass
Travel 22 km by coach over the Wilmot Pass Road (670 metres above sea level). Stops along the way allow you to take in the many spectacular views including views of Doubtful Sound as we descend to Deep Cove. Once at Deep Cove, it is time to paddle Doubtful Sound!
Kayak
Paddle in modern, stable double sea-kayaks equipped with steering rudders. Before you set out on the water, comprehensive safety and paddling briefings are given (support is ongoing from the guides throughout the tour). Information and interpretation on local history, geology, flora, and fauna is shared throughout the day.
As you paddle this remote fiord you will enjoy and experience awesome views of towering mountains and ice-carved valleys with rainforests clinging precariously on the steep sides. Waterfalls tumble down over the mountainsides (even more dramatic after or during heavy rain!). ‘Listen’ to the ‘Sounds of Silence’ and nature as you paddle in this landscape created by ice of many ages gone by.
Under towering Commander Peak, at the entrance to Hall Arm take time out for a lunch break with a complimentary cuppa (note: lunch is not provided). Feel the ever-changing atmosphere and surroundings permeate into your being and take time to gather your thoughts and reflect on what really matters in life.
After refreshments continue your paddle into Hall Arm, the most sheltered, scenic and safe part of the fiord to continue your kayaking adventure. Explore the sheltered coves and shorelines to get close to Nature. Your Doubtful Sound kayak concludes deep in Hall Arm in solitude with awesome views of Mount Danae towering to 1500 metres above you. Enjoy magnificent views of the valley beyond.
Explore a spectacular landscape created by ice of many ages gone by – at water level it is an overwhelming experience!!
Return
Our water taxi will pick you up from the end of your paddle and begin the return cruise back to Deep Cove. Time to leave this land that time forgot and return back across Wilmot Pass for the relaxing return cruise back down the lake to civilisation at Manapōuri.
Head back to Te Anau
Return to Manapōuri at 5.15pm. We will then transfer you by mini coach back to Te Anau, arriving at approximately 5.30 pm.
IMPORTANT NOTES
- Due to the nature of our trips taking place in an unpredictable environment, we are unable to guarantee certain subjects and activities will be available on every tour.
- Route may vary due to conditions at the time of the tour. Fiordland is a very high rainfall area and we seldom cancel tours due to rain. The rainy days are some of the most spectacular with mountain mist and a profusion of waterfalls. Our main concern regarding the weather is strong wind forecasts for the coastal area that can on occasion cause cancellation of tours.
- Child Policy: Children must be a minimum of 14 years old and must have kayaked some distance before. Each child must be traveling with a strong adult (as they will be in a double kayak with parent/caregiver) and be at least 1.4 metres plus tall and at least 45 kg in weight.
- As the kayak cockpit is a fixed size, to ensure 'fit' into our kayaks we must impose a weight limit of 115kg. HOWEVER, kayakers who are wider at the hips or who have long legs please call and speak with us to discuss if it will be practical to fit into a kayak.
