Lake Hayes

Lake Hayes is small - about two hundred and eighty hectares - shallow, and ringed by an eight-kilometre walking and cycling track that is flat, well-surfaced and takes two to three hours at a stroll. Its reputation rests almost entirely on autumn: introduced poplars, willows and larches around the shore turn yellow and orange through April and May, and on a still morning the whole thing sits inverted on the water, which is the image on a great many New Zealand calendars. Outside those weeks it is a pleasant but ordinary lake. There is a practical caveat worth knowing: the lake has a long-standing water quality problem from nutrient runoff, with algal blooms in summer that periodically make swimming inadvisable, and signage goes up when that happens. The track connects into the wider Queenstown Trail network, so it is easy to ride here from Arrowtown or Frankton.

History

Ngāi Tahu named the lake Te Whaka-ata a Haki-te-kura after an ancestress whose image was said to be reflected in it. Settlers first called it Hays Lake after D. Hay, an Australian who came to the district looking for sheep country in 1859, and the name drifted to Lake Hayes as its discovery was wrongly credited to Captain "Bully" Hayes (Wikipedia, Lake Hayes).

The landscape

• The autumn poplars - yellow and orange around the shore in April and May.
• The reflections - the ring of colour inverted on still mornings.
• The eight-kilometre loop - flat, sealed in parts, walk or ride.
• The trail links - into the Queenstown Trail network.

When to go

April to May for the colour, at dawn for the reflections - that is the whole reason to plan around it. Otherwise any season for the walk.

What to expect

Outside autumn it is unremarkable. Algal blooms occur in summer and swimming is sometimes advised against - check the signage. Car parks fill quickly on autumn weekends.

Nearby

Arrowtown is north-east; Queenstown and Frankton are south-west.

Key facts