NEW ZEALAND'S MOST BEAUTIFUL LAKE

Mark Wilson on Lake Manapouri,Fiordland National Park.

Anywhere else in the world within 150km’s of an international airport you would expect tranquil lake waters to be filled with the incessant hum of jet skis, sandy beaches to be punctuated by topless Scandinavians and the odd local merchant selling knock off Oakley’s, lake shores would be heavily clustered with the mansions of the A-list elite and the main street garnished in layers of pompous metro-sexualism, fancy knickknack stores and designer dog clothes.

Lake Manapouri from Manapouri Township

Not little old Manapouri, tucked away in the South west corner of New Zealand’s South Island this glacially carved lake skirted in native forest has escaped the ravages of commercial development. Manapouri and its 200 odd residents have slipped through the baby boom, the tourism boom and property boom relatively unscathed. It even had its own hermit until recently. He spent a decade capturing the images of Manapouri’s many moods and if you can find his photos they are well worth a look.

The splash of a kayak paddle as it breaks the mirror surface of the lake on a misty winter’s morning is only briefly disturbed by one of the few tourist launches that ply these usually tranquil waters giving those fortunate enough to have stumbled across this almost clandestine tourism gem a lift deeper into the one of the world’s largest and most pristine national parks. The beaches some which carry yellow and whites sands that would not look out of place in Rio are empty, more than one boat per beach except the townships main beach (Frasers) is strictly forbidden by local unwritten courtesies. Holiday cribs/batches as they are known in New Zealand sit interlaced with newer slightly more upmarket models which are still 3^rd world compared to Tahoe.

The thing that most strikes you about the place is the serenity, its quiet, and when you are used to being from any built up area you have never heard this type of silence. People have been known to cry as the engines on the Fiordland Navigator idle to a halt for the so called ‘sound of silence’ in Doubtful Sound which is a scenic boat and bus ride from Manapouri via the West Arm.

Home to New Zealands largest power station built entirely inside a 1400m high solid granite mountain, Manapouri's West Arm also plays host to the terminus of the 8 day Dusky Track one of the worlds hardest yet most rewarding walks.

Real Journeys one of New Zealand’s largest tourism companies cut its teeth here, Les Hutchins its founder lived on the shores of the lake. Hutchins was so impressed by its alluring natural beauty that by the time he was a young adult in the 1950’s he conducting small boat tours with guided walks over the 671m Wilmot Pass. The Wilmot pass is the route still used today to access Doubtful sound except Les’s old boat the MV Pilgrim has been replaced by a high speed modern catamaran and trek over the Wilmot pass replaced with a comfortable coach and full nature commentary.

The overwhelming principal of showing off this pristine part of the world still remains the motivator for the many operators who are on hand show you round all the nooks and cranny’s of Lake Manapouri’s winding shoreline and its 34 Islands. With everything from guided sea kayak adventures through fishing and hunting charters to fully air conditioned and catered boat cruises there is something to suit even the most intrepid travellers tastes.

The tales of Maori excursions here are like the mountains on a claggy day shrouded in a little mystery and there is more than one tale about their naming of the lake. Manapouri has had 2 other names, Roto-au meaning the rainy lake, and from time to time this could not be truer but it is this rainfall that has given rise to the sea of green rainforest which blankets the lowlands and clings like a besotted girlfriend to the steep mountains that surround most of the lake. It has also been known as Moturau which translated means lake of many islands, very apt indeed. 

Hunting at Lake Lois, Near Lake Manapouri, Fiordland National Park

With wet springs, hot summers and cold dry winters the climate is very seasonal but as famous kiwi band Crowded House so famously put it New Zealand can have four seasons in one day and it is these days that bring out the true beauty of this moody lake. In winter frost and freezing fog can hang over a dead calm lake and clear to a blue bird day with majestic snow capped mountains making a canvas worthy background for the discerning photographer, yet just as quickly as the sun emerged it can be swallowed up by the next storm front encroaching from the west, the wind whips the peaceful lake into a frenzy of white caps and the snow drapes a white carpet over the rain forest only to be gone by nightfall leaving starts brighter than Las Vegas strobes illuminating the clear cool night sky. 

Fisherman Lake Manapouri, Fiordland National Park

By summer the lake plays host ever so briefly to a influx of kiwi holiday makers who crack out the jandels, fire up the BBQ and fuel up the boat for a day on the beach, a spot of fishing or hunting and maybe even a peaceful kayak across the dark green waters stained from tannin in the tree leaves washed into the lake by the rain. 

Kayak on Circle Cove Beach - Lake Manapouri, Fiordland National Park

If there is person on earth you need to impress with a view, if there is something you have wanted to say but never could find the peace and quiet to say it, if you have searched for the most beautiful of lakes to grace our land then you need go no further. 

Enjoying a Moment in the Winter Sun, Lake Manapouri, Fiordland National Park.

Manapouri a place where you and your everyday troubles, trials and stresses pail into insignificance against the most stunning of backdrops. 

Written by – Mark Wilson, Inappropriate Magazine

Images by – Mark Wilson


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