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Lake Tekapo

Turquoise waters nestled in the golden-brown expanses of the MacKenzie Basin...

By Blackaptur Photography

September 5^th, 2019

Upon arrival - I was greeted with rather inclement weather...

In the centre of the South Island of New Zealand lies Lake Tekapo. This highland lake and settlement at 710 metres is in the heart of the Mackenzie District and surrounded by a vast basin of golden tussock grass. The name Tekapo derives from Maori words Taka (sleeping mat) and Po (night). Finely ground rock in the glacial melted waters give Lake Tekapo a beautifully unique turquoise color.

Maori were the first to venture into the Mackenzie Country, where they hunted moas, birds and eels before returning to the coast for food and trade.

The capture of Scotsman, James McKenzie in 1855, for being “in the company of a thousand stolen sheep” as he rustled them with his dog Friday, through a remote alpine pass into “a plain of immense extent” resulted in his deeds being immortalized and his name, albeit with a spelling change, applied to these highlands ever since.