Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
Lake Wakatipu
Shaped like a perfect cartoon thunderbolt, this gorgeous lake has a 212km shoreline and
reaches a depth of 379m (the average depth is over 320m). Five rivers flow into it but
only one (the Kawarau) flows out, making it prone to sometimes quite dramatic floods.
If the water looks clean, that's because it is. Scientists have rated it as 99.9% pure -
making it the second-purest lake water in the world. In fact, you're better off dipping your
glass in the lake than buying bottled water. It's also very cold. That beach by Marine Pde
may look tempting on a scorching day, but trust us - you won't want to splash about in
water that hovers around 10°C year-round. Because cold water increases the risk of
drowning, local bylaws require the wearing of life jackets in all boats under 6m, including
kayaks, on all of the district's lakes.
Maori tradition sees the lake's shape as the burnt outline of the evil giant Matau sleep-
ing with his knees drawn up. Local lad Matakauri set fire to the bed of bracken on which
the giant slept in order to rescue his beloved Manata, a chief's daughter who was kid-
napped by the giant. The fat from Matau's body created a fire so intense that it burnt a
hole deep into the ground.
LAKE
Queenstown Gardens
(Park St)
Set on its own little tongue of land framing Queenstown Bay, this pretty park was
laid out by those garden-loving Victorians as a place to promenade. The clothes may have
changed (they've certainly shrunk), but people still flock to this leafy peninsula to stroll,
picnic and laze about. Less genteel types head straight for the frisbee golf course (
Click
Other highlights of the park include an ice-skating rink, skateboard park, lawn-bowling
club, tennis courts, mature exotic trees (including large sequoias and some fab monkey
puzzles by the rotunda) and a rose garden. There's also a memorial to Captain Robert
Scott (1868-1912), leader of the doomed South Pole expedition, which includes an en-
graving of his moving final message.
PARK
St Peter's Anglican Church
MAP
CHURCH
GOOGLE MAP
