Lake Manapouri

Manapouri is deep - its floor lies well below sea level - and irregular, with several arms reaching into the mountains and something over thirty bush-covered islands, which is why it is often called the most beautiful lake in the country by people who have seen all of them. Its other significance is political history rather than scenery. In the 1960s a plan to raise the lake by up to thirty metres for the Manapouri power scheme drew a petition signed by around 265,000 people, at the time the largest in New Zealand's history, and the government that ignored it lost office; the lake was not raised, and the campaign is usually treated as the start of the modern conservation movement here. The power station was built underground instead. Boats cross to West Arm for Doubtful Sound trips and to the Kepler and Dusky track ends. Sandflies at the shore are severe.

What you actually see

• The drowned arms - valleys flooded into a many-fingered lake.
• The islands - thirty-odd, bush-covered, scattered through it.
• The West Arm crossing - the boat route toward Doubtful Sound.
• The underground power station - the compromise that saved the level.

When to go

October to April. Boat trips to Doubtful Sound run year round but are weather-dependent. Still mornings give the reflections.

Honest expectations

Sandflies here are severe and constant. The village is tiny with minimal services. Doubtful Sound trips are long days and expensive. The lake is cold and deep - swimming is uncommon.

Nearby

Te Anau is north; Doubtful Sound is reached across the lake and over Wilmot Pass.