Lake Alexandrina (New Zealand)
Lake Alexandrina is a lake located in the Mackenzie Basin of New Zealand's South Island. It lies immediately to the west of the much larger Lake Tekapo and further to the east of Lake Pukaki, located to the north of Lake Tekapo township. It is a shallow lake with distinct indications of glacial origin and is spring fed with an outlet on its eastern shore midway down the lake. The outlet feeds into a smaller lake, Lake MacGregor before feeding into Lake Tekapo described as “Opaque and milky blue” in colour. In the desert terrain of the Mackenzie Plains, Lake Alexandrina is considered as an “oasis of life”.
Lake Alexandrina is a Wildlife Refuge and a delight to a fisherman, well documented for its brown and rainbow trout and salmon.
A view of Lake Alexandrina from the top of nearby Mount John
Landscape near the lake
Australasian crested grebe
Panoramic view of Lake Alexandrina shot from Mount John
The Mackenzie Basin, popularly and traditionally known as the Mackenzie Country, is an elliptical intermontane basin located in the Mackenzie and Waitaki Districts, near the centre of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest such basin in New Zealand. Historically famous mainly for sheep farming, the sparsely populated area is now also a popular tourism destination.
The Mackenzie Country's typical autumn colouration
The Southern Alps form the northern and western boundaries of the basin.
The Ben Ohau Range from the eastern shore of Tekapo B hydrogenerator station headgate pond
Aoraki / Mount Cook from the southern shore of Lake Pukaki