Lake Tekapo

“Lake Tekapo is the second-largest of three roughly parallel lakes running north–south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand. The others are Lake Pukaki and Lake Ohau. It covers an area of 83 square kilometres (32 sq miles). It is at an altitude of 700 metres (2,300 ft) above sea level.

The lake is fed at its northern end by the braided Godley River, which has its source in the Southern Alps to the north. The lake is a popular tourist destination, and several resort hotels are located at the township of Lake Tekapo at the lake’s southern end.

The Lake Tekapo Regional Park, administered by Environment Canterbury is located on the southern shore of the lake. An astronomical observatory is located at Mount John, which is to the north of the town, and south of the small Lake Alexandrina.

Church of the Good Shepherd

Located on the shores of Lake Tekapo is the Church of the Good Shepherd, which, in 1935, was the first church built in the Mackenzie Basin. The church at Burkes Pass, St Patrick’s built in 1872 was the first church built by pioneers as a joint community effort, by Anglicans Presbyterian and Catholic settlers.

A joint venture between Presbyterians and Anglicans, St Columba in Fairlie was built in 1879. The church at Lake Tekapo was designed by Christchurch architect R.S.D. Harman, based on sketches by a local artist, Esther Hope. The church is arguably one of the most photographed in New Zealand, and features an altar window that frames stunning views of the lake and mountains.

The New Zealand Collie Sheepdog

Close to the Church of the Good Shepherd is one of New Zealand’s best known public monuments, a bronze statue of a New Zealand Collie sheepdog. Scottish shepherds came to the eastern South Island during the 19th century, bringing with them their collie sheepdogs.

In 1857 John and Barbara Hay established Tekapo Station, the first sheep farm in the Mackenzie, on the shores of Lake Tekapo. When the lake is low, remains of the homestead can be seen on the walk to Pines Beach.

An accommodation house was established in 1861, along with a ferry across the Tekapo River. Popular as ‘bullocky’ resting place, it became well known throughout the district. In 1881 the foundations of the first bridge were laid. When the Mount Cook-Hermitage Company formed it ran a coach between Fairlie and the Hermitage, stopping for lunch at Lake Tekapo.

The bronze sheepdog statue was placed above Lake Tekapo on March 7th, 1968. The sheepdog statue erected on a rock foundation is a monument to the hard working collie sheepdogs who worked on the farms in the Mackenzie Country.”

You will find this image on the front page of the website in my Featured Content Gallery. Permission is granted to use this file under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) license.