Lake Wakatipu

The lake is about 80 km long and 295 square kilometres in area, and it sits 309 metres above sea level. It is very deep, with a maximum depth of 420 metres and a floor about 111 metres below sea level, and it holds an estimated 64.2 cubic kilometres of water that takes around 12 years to be replaced. Wikipedia describes its form as a reversed N or dog leg. The Dart River enters at the northern end, and the lake runs south for about 30 km, turns sharply east, then after another 20 km turns sharply south again to end near Kingston. Glenorchy lies at the northern end. The Kawarau River drains the lake from the Frankton Arm, and until roughly 18,000 years ago the Mataura River drained it instead, before glacial moraine blocked that route.

The lake has a seiche period of 26.7 minutes, which causes the water level in Queenstown Bay to rise and fall by about 200 millimetres. Maori tradition explains the changing levels with a legend of a giant who created the lake when he died, with his breathing causing the water to rise and fall. The name is explained in several ways, including a contraction of Waka-tipua-wai-maori, trough of fresh water where the giant lies, and a derivation from whakatipu, meaning to create or cause to grow. Wikipedia presents these as competing explanations.

The Remarkables and the Hector Mountains line the south-eastern edge, and the lake is known for its scenery and adventure tourism, with ski fields, paragliding, bungy jumping and walking tracks nearby. Four islands dot the lake: Pig Island, Pigeon Island, Tree Island and Hidden Island. The vintage steamship TSS Earnslaw regularly sails the lake. It stood in for Loch Ness in The Water Horse (2007), provided scenery in The Fellowship of the Ring and gave its name to the television series Top of the Lake.

The lake first appeared on a map in 1843 and was positioned using information from Maori. Nathaniel Chalmers became the first European to view it, from a distance, in September 1853, guided by a chief named Reko, and three men reached its shore in January 1856. Stations were established in 1859, and William Gilbert Rees and Nicholas von Tunzelmann visited in 1860. Gold found at Dunstan in 1862 began the Otago gold rush, and later gold on Rees' land led to the founding of Queenstown.

The lake is home to the longfin eel, with a specimen caught in 1886 described as the largest known of its species, and to introduced brown trout, salmon and rainbow trout. Lakeside communities including Queenstown, Glenorchy and Kingston have experienced periodic flooding. A private guided visit suits the lake well, linking the Queenstown waterfront with the road to Glenorchy at the northern end.