Wilmot Pass Road (Manapouri - Doubtful)

Getting from the west end of Lake Manapouri to Doubtful Sound required a 40 minute ride over a small mountain on a gravel road on a coach bus. The road includes a nice overlook above Deep Cove at the eastern end of Doubtful Sound. It was mostly obscured by clouds on the way out but was visible on the way back.

The road between Lake Manapouri and Doubtful Sound was pretty remote. The only way to get to the road, which connects two bodies of water, is by boat. It passed by some nice views including this waterfall. Between the drive out to Doubtful Sound and the drive back, our bus driver stopped at all the sights for us to take pictures.
The road between Lake Manapouri and Doubtful Sound was built for the construction of a hydroelectric power station on the west end of Lake Manapouri in the 60s. The water flows downwards into turbines 176m underground. The water then exits into Doubtful Sound. Before the road was built, visiting Doubtful Sound required a 2 day 20km hike. The Doubtful Sound tour with Real Journeys included a trip down a 2km underground access tunnel by coach to the turbines.