Lester was itching for a hike so we dropped him off to do a portion of the Kepler Track while Leonard and I headed south to Manapouri for a trip to Doubtful Sound. This is a surf and turf and surf and turf and surf trip where you take a boat across Manapouri Lake, then board a bus to go over Wilmot Pass, then its on to another boat to explore Doubtful Sound, reversing the process to get back.
For those of us in the utility business, the highlight was the Manapouri Power Station. You can see the switchyard, the intake and the trash racks from the boat, to say nothing of the high voltage lines carrying all 850MW of rompin’ stompin’ dynamite to an aluminum smelter near Bluff.
The facility where the boat docks has one of the original turbines, a model explaining rhe operation of the turbine generator and penstock, plus a scale model of the unit.
This baby has seven penstocks and over 590 FEET of head sending Lake water to an underground power house,thence into Doubtful Sound from an outfall ten meters above the Sound. No submerging this unit’s tailrace, by crackie.
Of course, seeing this hydroelectric masterpiece reminded me that by a 60 – 40 margin, Maine voted to consign the minority residents of Bridgeport, New Haven and other black and brown communities to continue choking on the effluent generated by the fossil boys who went all out to kill the line bringing hydro power from Quebec. That line is, or soon will be, displacing 1400 MW of the dirtiest power plants in New England for each of the 8,760 hours in a year. We’re the whitest state in the union so I guess the fact that these communities incur emphysema, lung cancer and numerous other respiratory illnesses at a rate far higher than white communities as a direct result of the discharges from these grossly inefficient pigs could be safely discounted. (Studies verifying this from Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health available upon request. ) After all, the line goes through 50 miles of oft-clearcut working forest land criss-crossed by logging roads. Can’t have that!
And we sure as Christ don’t need the millions of dollars of energy cost savings likewise resulting from its installation.
Did I mention that Maine ratepayers will not bear a penny of the cost of the line in our rates?
But I digress.
In contrast with yesterday’s steady downpour at Milford Sound, it was shorts, tee shirts and sunscreen today in broad sunshine with temps in the mid 70s. The boat across the lake had a lady skipper as in Milford and the scenery was lovely with mists drifting about – the photographer’s friend.
The bus taking us over Wilmot Pass (no relation to the Proviso of the same name) stopped a few times in part so we could feel the moss. We were advised that there is no soil of any kind in the Sound, but rather mosses grow everywhere and the trees take root in, and derive all nutrients from, them. Urged to take a feel I found the bright green moss to be quite like a sponge: wringing wet.
Then Doubtful Sound came into view.
A few interesting facts. Its name derives from Captain Cook’s naming it Doubtful Harbor when, sailing to its mouth in 1770, he considered it Doubtful whether he could safely navigate into it. Also, a “sound” is created by riverine erosion, whereas glaciers carved out Doubtful, which makes it a fjord. It’s part of Fjordlands National Park, as is Milford.
My Dear Cousin Oyvind, a faithful blog follower, will be happy to hear that Norway still takes the kake, as they say in Norsk, but this didn’t stink for views.
Then it was back to the dock, over the pass, back across the lake, scoop up Lester and off to dinner with a charming couple we met from London where the wife was Turkish and originally from my son-in-law Baris’ hometown of Istanbul.
I hope to get some pics from Lester’s 8 hour hike tomorrow for supplemental posting.
We head to Queenstown tomorrow for a night. I bought some postcards to send to Alison’s postcard list and will compose en route.
Kenway Goes South 
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