Way back in the mists of time, well, 1974, I went on a bus tour around the South Island. I remember standing on the shore of Lake Hawea and saying to myself "This is the most beautiful view in the whole of New Zealand." And for years, I always tell people to go to Lake Hawea. However, I began to doubt myself. Was Hawea as wonderful as I remembered it? It's a fifteen minute drive from Lake Wanaka, so I went there last month. And do you know what? It was just as beautiful as I remembered. Untouched. Unspoilt No houses. I stood by the shore and took it all in: just pure pristine-ness, and I don't think that's even a word.
Mind you, I almost missed finding the lake. I thought the Hawea main road would snake around the water's edge. It didn't. I had to ask a local guy: a - "Where's the village?" There isn't one; b - "Where's the lake?" Down the side roads, look for the signs.
My photos don't do Hawea justice.
below: I had lunch at the Lake Hawea Hotel (just as you enter Hawea). Great fish and chips.
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