Doubtful Sound in Winter

Winter on Doubtful Sound means short days, cold air and, Visit Fiordland says, the most settled weather of the year. If you are choosing the best Doubtful Sound tour for a June, July or August date, here is what changes and what does not.

Is Doubtful Sound worth visiting in winter?

Yes, if you dress for it. Visit Fiordland calls winter the most settled time of year, often blue and cloudless, with snow to low levels and sometimes even ice on the fiord. The fiord is open in winter unless weather affects it, which is not often.

You trade light and warmth for that. Days run from about 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, and the deck is cold. If you can live with both, you may see the walls under snow on a clear day, which a summer trip cannot give you.

Daylight is Visit Fiordland's winter figure; the tawaki season is DOC's. The overnight is left out of the table because its listing gives no season: check its dates before you plan around it.

How settled is the winter weather?

Settled, not dry. Doubtful Sound takes around 6 m of rain a year, Visit Fiordland says, and winter still gets its share. On NIWA's normals for West Arm, June brings about 271 mm, against 413 mm in May, the wettest month.

What changes is the pattern: blue, cloudless days are more common, Visit Fiordland says. July is the coldest month on those normals, with an average high of 6.0°C and a low of 0.7°C. The Doubtful Sound weather page has every month.

What happens on the pass in snow?

Every trip crosses Wilmot Pass, a gravel road that climbs to 671 m. Visit Fiordland says snow falls to low levels in winter, and DOC warns that the pass road can bring heavy snow or rain.

The trips keep running through winter, because the fiord closes only when weather stops it, which Visit Fiordland says is not often. If the operator cancels for weather, you are offered another date or a full refund. You do not drive the pass yourself on a tour.

What does a winter day on the fiord look like?

From Manapouri, you check in at Pearl Harbour 20 minutes before your departure, dressed for the deck. The boat crosses Lake Manapouri to West Arm; DOC warns the lake can turn rough and choppy, particularly in the afternoons.

A coach then climbs over the pass, with a stop on the way, and drops to Deep Cove, where the cruise boat waits. A nature guide talks you through the fiord, and at one point the engines go off for a moment of silence. Then you come back the same way, over the pass and the lake, seven hours after you started.

How short are the days?

About eight hours of light, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Visit Fiordland says. In summer it is closer to sixteen, from 5:30 am to 9:30 pm.

The seven-hour day from Manapouri fits inside a winter day. The coach day from Te Anau, 8 hours 30 minutes to 9 hours, runs a little past it. The day from Queenstown, 12 to 13 hours, is longer than the light, so part of it runs in the dark.

Do the cruises and the overnight still run?

The day cruises do. Visit Fiordland says tours depart Manapouri daily and the fiord stays open in winter unless the weather affects it. The cruises run in all weather, so a grey day is still a cruising day.

The overnight and the 3-day trip are the ones to check. Neither listing states a season, so look for your date on the booking calendar before you plan a winter trip around a night aboard.

Do the helicopters fly?

When the weather allows. The flights from Te Anau Airport land only if conditions are right, and a settled winter day can be a good one. Nobody can promise it in advance.

The one-hour flight spends about 15 minutes over the lake and about 40 over the ranges and the fiord, with a lookout landing if the weather allows. The 90-minute flight lands above Doubtful Sound and then above Dusky Sound, and comes home over the Kepler Mountains. Six seats, and 120 kg per passenger.

Book your flight early in your stay and keep a spare day. Confirmation can take up to 48 hours after booking, and the fare refunds in full up to 24 hours before. If the operator cancels for weather, you are offered another date or a full refund.

What should you wear on a winter cruise?

• Thermal layers under a fleece or down jacket.
• A waterproof shell, because rain and spray come in every season.
• A hat and gloves for the deck, where the wind is strongest.
• Comfortable shoes with grip for the wharves and the coach stops.
• Lunch or a card, since food on the day boats is sold, not included.

Dress so that you can stand on deck for twenty minutes at a time. The overnight's own list asks for comfortable shoes, a waterproof jacket, warm clothing and a swimsuit.

What about the drive from Queenstown?

Visit Fiordland puts the drive from Queenstown to Manapouri at 2.5 hours. On the day trip from 88 Beach Street, a coach does that driving both ways, part of it in the dark.

If you drive yourself, give it more time in winter and check road conditions with the NZ Transport Agency before you set off. Better still, drive down the day before and sleep in Te Anau or Manapouri. The Doubtful Sound tours from Te Anau page covers the day from there.

What else is there to do on a winter evening?

With dark at 4:30 pm, evenings are long. In Te Anau, the Te Anau Glowworm Caves are an evening trip across the lake by boat, to a grotto lit by glowworms. Check the winter sailing times when you book.

The things to do around the fiord page lists the walks and the lake trips. After a day on the water, a warm room in Te Anau is also a fine answer.

Which winter trip should you book?

With a car, the day cruise from Manapouri: at seven hours, it is the only boat day that fits inside winter's light, and it is the lowest fare, at $207. Without a car, the coach day from Te Anau, from $216.

For the view from above, a helicopter flight from Te Anau Airport, with a spare day in case the weather keeps it on the ground. For a night on the fiord, check the overnight's calendar first. The guide on which trip to book compares every format.

Where should you stay on a winter trip?

In Te Anau or Manapouri, not Queenstown. A winter day from Queenstown is longer than the light, while Manapouri is about 20 minutes from Te Anau and minutes from the jetty.

Te Anau has more beds and the coach stop on Lakefront Drive. Manapouri, DOC's second town of Fiordland, is the closer start for a day cruise with an early check-in.

What if the weather does close the fiord?

Then the operator cancels, and you are offered another date or a full refund. That holds for the day cruises, the one-hour flight and the overnight from Manapouri alike, even though the overnight is otherwise non-refundable.

So build a spare day into a winter trip. If your cruise moves, the spare day catches it; if nothing moves, spend it on a flight or the glowworm caves.

What wildlife is about in winter?

Tawaki, the Fiordland crested penguin, breed from July to November, DOC says, which is when they come ashore most. So a late-winter cruise falls inside their season.

Visit Fiordland says the fiord shelters New Zealand's southernmost bottlenose dolphins and kekeno, the fur seal, in any month. No cruise can promise a sighting. The page on the wildlife of the fiord explains the rules the boats follow around them. For the other seasons, see the best time to visit page.

Frequently asked questions

Trips for a winter date

Doubtful Sound Wilderness Day Cruise from Manapouri

Seven hours from the jetty in Manapouri: the lake by boat, the pass by coach and about 2 hours on the fiord with nature guides. You drive yourself to the start.

From $207 per person

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From Te Anau: Doubtful Sound Coach & Cruise

Eight and a half hours from Lakefront Drive in Te Anau: the coach to Manapouri, the lake, the pass and a 3-hour cruise. Food on sale on board, card only.

From $216 per person

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Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise

About 20 hours on the fiord: an afternoon cruise, a three-course dinner, a cabin at anchor and breakfast on the water. Booked in twos, and non-refundable.

From $462 per person, bookings of two

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