Lake Hayes

Lake Hayes is not far from Queenstown but has a micro culture of it's own. It has always been known as exclusive and has maintained that throughout several booms that have seen the region expand exponentially. The holiday homes here are large and on large sections. Lake Hayes Estate, a new housing subdivision, is on the other side of the State Highway.

Fortunately all visitors to the area can access the lake and enjoy the atmosphere via the Lake Hayes Circuit part of the Queenstown Trail, walking and cycling path. The circuit is eight kilometres and easily accessible from Queenstown, Arrowtown or Gibbston, each of which also host sectors of the Queenstown Trail.

The memorial on the lakefront here is for a farmer who brought cutting edge techniques to this part of the world in 1910. The notice reads as follows:

"Robert Lee bought Threepwood Farm in 1910, naming it after his birthplace in Northumberland, England. The development of of Wakatipu’s first irrigation scheme was typical of his innovative style. This engineering feat carried water from a creek on The Remarkables to Threepwood, using pipes suspended by wire ropes to cross the Kawarau River. Lee died in 1911, just days after the project was completed."

Image Credits: Michelle Tatler Photographer, and, Lake Hayes, A Calm Evening, Dunedin, by Muir & Moodie studio, William Hart. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa