Lake Manapouri

Story

Lake Manapouri is located in the South Island of New Zealand. The lake is situated within the Fiordland National Park and the wider region of Te Wahipounamu South West New Zealand World Heritage Area.Māori HistoryAccording to Māori legend Lake Manapouri was created by the tears of two sisters, Moturua and Koronae, who were daughters of an old chief in the region. Koronae journeyed deep into the forest one day only to become stranded after a fall. Her sister Moturua went looking for her and when she found Koronae she realised that Koronae could not be rescued. Moturua lay with Koronae and there they lay until they died, their tears creating Lake Manapouri. Lake Manapouri means anxious or sorrowful heart because of the grief of the two sisters. However, the present name was given by mistake. An early settler accidentally called it by the name of one of the Mavora Lakes, which lie between Lake Te Anau and Lake Wakatipu. The original name of the lake is believed to have been Roto-ua which translates to Rainy Lake and later Moturau which means Many Islands. Māori have a long history in the area, finding the lake and its surroundings offering an abundance of food in the form of eels and birds such as pigeon and New Zealand kaka (forest parrot). Manapouri was discovered by Europeans in 1852, by the explorers Charles J Nairn and W H Stevens.GeographyLake Manapouri was formed by glaciers during the last Holocene. The lake is New Zealand’s second deepest lake measuring 444m deep. Lake Manapouri is 178m above sea level however due to glaciers, Lake Manapouri has been cut deep into the ground and the bottom of the lake now lies 267m below sea level. The lake has four arms, North, South, West and Hope with the smaller indentations of Shallow Bay and Calm Bay. Lake Manapouri contains 33 islands in total with 22 of these being wooded. Lying close to the centre of the lake is the largest island of Pomona Island. Other large islands include Holmwood Island, Rona Island and Mahara Island. The small settlement of Manapouri lies on the eastern shore.