The small community of Lake Tekapo, which is home to approximately 300 residents, stands on the southern shores of Lake Tekapo close to the Tekapo River, which is the main outflow of the lake. The village overlooks the unusual azure-coloured lake, the picturesque golden tussock covered rolling high country of the Mackenzie Basin and the awesome Southern Alps, home to the stunning Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Known for its undisturbed natural beauty, pristine countryside and clean air, Tekapo is located roughly half way between Christchurch and Queenstown, and as such makes an ideal base from which to explore this magnificent area. Due to its isolated location, Lake Tekapo boasts, that, due to its clean air and controlled light pollution, its night skies offer an outstanding opportunity to ‘star gaze’, not only with the naked eye but also through the Mount John University Observatory. This almost ideal situation has given cause to propose the initiation of a ‘Park in the Sky’ concept which could see the area of Tekapo and Aoraki/Mount Cook becoming the first U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage Area Starlight Reserve.
This small community is a popular tourist destination and offers a good variety of accommodation, food outlets, motor vehicle facilities and several general retail outlets. It also attracts people by its range of outdoor activities which include walking and tramping, mountain bike riding, horse trekking, 4 wheel drive tours, fly-fishing, hunting, water skiing, jet boating or simply cruising the lake. During the winter months it is possible to ice skate or enjoy snow skiing and cross country skiing on the local ski fields of Roundhill, Mount Dobson and Fox’s Peak. The village also offers the opportunity to have a game of golf, take a scenic flight or visit the local Mt John Observatory!!
Within the village are two special places worth a visit, one is the lake edge Church of the Good Shepherd which was built in 1935, becoming the first church built in Mackenzie country, and the other is a delightful bronze statue of a working collie dog which commemorates the importance of dogs whose efforts make sheep farming in this alpine area possible. The Church of the Good Shepherd is registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
The waters of the lake form part of the Waitaki hydro-electric scheme and when entering the village it is possible to see the Tekapo Canal which carries the lake water 27 kilometres to the Lake Pukaki powerhouse then onwards through the impressive Waitaki Valley hydro system
Just for interest a short distance from Lake Tekapo is the ‘Irishman Creek Sheep Station’ from which Bill Hamilton designed and developed water jet technology to power small boats that took men and equipment into the river valleys of his station to work. He continued to develop this technology into its current form which is used in the jet boats that we now use to speed up and down the waterways of New Zealand.
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