The boat was great, small enough to be intimate but enough space to get away. Though it had been raining since we arrived, so getting outside was limited. That didn't stop us fishing. You have to imagine pulling up in a fiord with high mountainous cliffs, waterfalls dotted throughout. The location was breathtaking. We caught many fish, all of them too small to keep. Thankfully, Paul, one of the other guests, seem to have the touch. We had our (Paul's) freshly caught fish for dinner. One sashimed with sesame oil and lemon juice, divine. The dinner on the boat was excellent and we certainly weren't left hungry. The boat was BYO, we figured 3 bottles of wine, some beer and a hipflask of whisky would be enough, we weren't left thirsty either.
We awoke to a beautiful sunrise and sunshine, finding a pod of dolphins swiming alongside the boat. We cruised through the breathtaking fiord arms drinking in the scenery...and coffee.
The multiple arms of the fiord provide a genuine sense of exploration. As you cruise pat their openings, dramatic vistas unfold.
We had never understood what the big issue was with sandflies...until now. The thirsty bloodsuckers appear to strategise as a military unit. One of the mini vampires will hover around your face distracting you while his kamikaze team will attack all exposed skin. We thought we were safe out fishing in the rain, we were wrong.
It was only waking the next morning, the itching lumps from hell took over. If you scratch, the itching spreads but you can't stop. No creams or drugs appear to ease the burning itch. After several days, desperation started to set in, willing to try anything. Research suggested toothpaste dabbed on the affending mini skin mountains, other than not working one jot, applying it to the bite directly under your eye is not good judgement (though as mentioned in defense, desperation had set in). The peppermint fumes from the toothpaste causing a stinging burn in your eye...at least it distracted from the bites for a while.
Next old wives tale, deodorant. Didn't help the bites but appeared no harm done...until showering later. Washing your face and getting deodorant in your eye which makes your eye feel drier that a desert, so much you can barely shut your eye. Another lesson learned.
No more old wives tales, we bought some medically proven cream. Must have been tested on a different strain of sandfly, still no relief. Wine helps a little, orally not on the bite. Though that was also listed as an old wives tale but we're not going to waste any good wine on that theory (okay we did...again in despiration, waste of good sauvignon blanc really).
It's now been months since life without itching existed, okay several days (four but certainly feels like months. We understand why they don't include sandfies in the travel brochures. Love it here regardless, thankfully they only exist in the far south and we're about to had northward.
But all carry-on about diabolical, mini-vampire blighters aside, Doubtful Sound trumped Milford for us. Fewer people, a considerably more extensive fiord system to explore, dinner (did we mention the crayfish that had been caught that morning?), good company, contrasts of pelting rain with gorgeous sunrise.......if we don't get another opportunity, these memories will sustain us. Totallly recommended, and make sure you cruise with Fiordland Cruises (or, as they say on the Real Journeys boat on Lake Manapouri, "the other company").
Oh, it's calledl Doubtful because Captain Cook was doubtful that he could navigate back out of the fiord if he went in.
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