Burkes Pass – Buy
I was heading for Lake Pukaki, a large alpine lake on the northern edge of the MacKenzie Basin near the township of Tekapo. On the way, I passed through Burkes Pass, named after Dublin University graduate Michael John Burke who drove a team of bullocks through the passageway which leads up into the Mackenzie Country in 1855.
Lake Tekapo – Buy
Without a doubt the most outstanding features of Lake Tekapo and the McKenzie Region are the clear blue lakes, the mountain backdrops and the clear night skies. Standing on the edge of the lake, looking out to the clear blue beyond, I wanted to give mother nature a round of applause and say ‘job well done!’
Lake Tekapo – Buy or view the Ōtepoti | Dunedin gallery
One of the legends of Lake Tekapo is that it was dug out by explorer Rākaihautū with his digging stick called Tūwhakaroria. After arriving in Nelson, Rākaihautū split his people into two groups. Rākaihautū led his group down the middle of the South Island, digging the freshwater lakes of South Island as he went. His son, Rakihouia, led the other group down the east coast of the South Island.