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On the edge of a pristine alpine lake, surrounded by the spectacular scenery of Mount Aspiring National Park, Lake Wanaka is the ideal destination for outdoor adventures and soothing relaxation.

Lake Wanaka lies at the heart of the Otago Lakes in the lower South Island of New Zealand, at an altitude of 300 metres. Covering an area of 192 km2 (74 sq mi), it is New Zealand's fourth largest lake, and estimated to be more than 300 m (980 ft) deep. Its name is Māori, a corruption of Oanaka ('The place of Anaka', a local tribal chief)

The highway skirts the eastern coast of the lake before crossing The Neck, a saddle in the mountains that lie between Lakes Wanaka and Hawea.

Mt Aspiring National Park is an area of unrivalled natural beauty and host to hundreds of hiking tracks, rock climbing routes and trout fishing rivers, all within easy reach of Lake Wanaka

Lake Hawea

Mt Aspiring National Park is an area of unrivalled natural beauty and host to hundreds of hiking tracks, rock climbing routes and trout fishing rivers, all within easy reach of Lake Wanaka

At its heart is Mt Aspiring, the park’s highest mountain at 3,027m and known to early Maori as ‘Tititea’ or ‘glistening peak’. Since the age of mountaineering began in New Zealand it’s been a draw card for climbers the world over.

Lake Hawea is located in the Otago Region of New Zealand, at an altitude of 348 metres. It covers an area of some 141 km² and is, at its deepest, 392 metres deep.

Its name is Māori, and is thought to be named after a local tribe though the exact meaning is uncertain.

In 1958 the lake was raised artificially by 20 metres to store more water for increased hydroelectric power generation.

Wanaka is a town situated at the southern end of Lake Wanaka, adjacent to the outflow of the lake to the Clutha River.

It is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park. Wanaka is primarily a resort town but has both summer and winter seasons and is based around the many outdoor opportunities.

Due to the growing tourism business and the increasing number of retirees in Wanaka, large growth is occurring, with a population increase of up to 50% in the past 10 years.

This sculpture at Lake Wanaka called 'The Hand That Nurtures' is by sculptor Llew Summers

It symbolises nurturing, safety and protection as well as friendship, openess and honesty.

The cabbage tree (Cordyline australis) is one of the most distinctive trees in the New Zealand landscape, especially on farms. They grow all over the country, but prefer wet, open areas like swamps.

Cabbage trees have lovely scented flowers in early summer, which turn into bluish-white berries that birds love to eat. Growing 12 to 20 metres high, cabbage trees have long narrow leaves that may be up to a metre long

Internet image

As the plant gets old, the stems may die but new shoots grow from any part of the trunk

The bark is thick and tough like cork, and a huge fleshy taproot anchors the tree firmly into the ground.Internet image

Flax (Phormium tenax)

Chionochloa rubra (Red tussock grass) is a New Zealand native with striking clumps of strong copper - red foliage which sway gently in the wind, flowers only occasionally

Red tussock (Chionochloa rubra) was flourishing throughout Southland when European settlement began in the 1850s. Today it is mostly found in parts of Fiordland, or as a garden plant.

Text: Internet

Pictures: Sanda Foişoreanu

Doina Grigoraş

Arangement: Sanda Foişoreanu

www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

Sound: Kiri te Kanava - Ara Ka Titiro

Maori Kapa Haka - Haere Mai