Lake Tekapo, like its larger neighbour Lake Pukaki, occupies a glacial valley that was carved out during the last Ice Age that ended some 10,000 years ago. The enormous glacier that once filled this valley has long since retreated into tributary valleys high in the Southern Alps to the northwest. However, these many smaller glaciers are still active, and are the sources of the silty meltwater that gives Lake Tekapo its turquoise hue.
It was a blustery winter’s day in 1998 when, on my way south, I stopped briefly at the small touristique village of Lake Tekapo, at the southern end of the lake, in search of a meal. A bitterly cold wind from the nor’west was tearing down from the Southern Alps, and the gathering storm clouds hinted that things were deteriorating. I bought some food, and drove down to the lakefront to see what it was like down there.
It certainly wasn’t inviting, but somehow it was harshly beautiful all the same. I liked it enough to eventually try to take some photos despite the conditions – and this certainly was no easy task. Once outside, my hands quickly lost sensation in the below-zero wind chill, and spray peppered me like hail while I struggled to keep the tripod and camera from blowing away, let alone to hold them still enough for a decent photograph. After waiting for a few frozen minutes I finally managed to hit the shutter button between wind gusts to get this photograph before retreating to the warmth of the car.
