Lake Ōhau is a lake in the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand. The Hopkins and Dobson rivers fed into the northern end of Lake Ōhau. These rivers have their headwaters in the Southern Alps. The lake's outflow is the Ōhau River, which travels from the southeast corner of Lake Ōhau and feeds into the Waitaki River hydroelectric project. The Barrier range (and Mount Sutton 2007m in particular) dominate the western side of Lake Ōhau, while the Ben Ohau range dominates the eastern side of Lake Ōhau. At the northern end of the lake, in between the Hopkins and Dobson rivers, lies the Naumann Range of mountains (with Mount Glenmary 2590m being the tallest). The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "place of Hau" for Ōhau, but an alternative meaning could be "windy place". Ōhau is the smallest of three roughly parallel lakes running north–south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin (the others are Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo). It covers 60 km2.
Lake Ohau Alpine Village is located on the western shore of the Lake. The lake forms part of the traditional boundary between the Otago and Canterbury regions, Otago's northernmost point being the headwaters of the Hopkins River. Officially the lake lies in the northwestern part of the Waitaki District within the southern part of the Canterbury region.
Location
Lake Ōhau is 320 kilometres (four hours drive) west of Christchurch and 275 kilometres (three hours drive) north of Dunedin. It is accessed by turning off State Highway 8 between Twizel and Omarama on to Lake Ōhau Road which arrives at Lake Ōhau after about 17 kilometres.
Climate The warmest month of the year is February, with an average temperature of 15.4 °C | 59.7 °F. The lowest average temperatures in the year occur in July, when it is around 2.8 °C | 37.0 °F. Monthly rainfall ranges between an average of 57mm in February to 101mm in October. Snow is common in the winter months of June, July and August.
In Māori culture The legends of Ngāi Tahu speak of Lake Ōhau being one of the lakes dug by the Waitaha explorer Rākaihautū with his Polynesian digging stick which was called [Tūwhakaroria. After arriving in the Uruao waka at Nelson, Rākaihautū divided his people into two groups. Rākaihautū led his group down the middle of the island, digging the South Island freshwater lakes. His son, Rakihouia, led the other group down the east coast of the South Island. Ngāi Tahu visited Lake Ōhau as part of their seasonal food gathering patterns. It was well known for eels and weka. These were gathered and preserved for the upcoming winter months.
Population
Lake Ōhau is probably one of the most unpopulated lakes in New Zealand. The Lake Ōhau Alpine Village has 140 sections and around 30 houses, of which the majority are holiday homes. The Village population was increasing, before the 4 October 2020 wildfire destroyed 48 houses in the Village. Visitors are often astounded by the peace and quiet around Lake Ōhau. Some believe Lake Ōhau has benefited from tourism and visitors, However, only the local businesses benefit, and many locals are left cleaning up rubbish and reminding visitors fires, and fireworks, are prohibited.
Stargazing Lake Ōhau with its clear unpolluted skies and small population is known for the quality of the stargazing. In 2012, a 4300 square kilometre area was declared the Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve, the boundary of which follows the eastern shore of Lake Ōhau. This is one of only eight in the world.
Farming Farming has been the main economic activity around Lake Ōhau since the late 1800s. Several large high country stations existing in the immediate vicinity. Eileen McMillan wrote a 508 page book entitled "Frugal Country and Hard on the Boots" that covers the history of Lake Ōhau including farming in the region. In 1857 the land south and east of Lake Ōhau, Benmore Station, was leased to brothers George and Edmund Hodgkinson and Ronald McMurdo. In the 1870s, the Benmore Station comprised 101 500 hectares and 65 000 sheep. In 1859 land at the head of the lake was leased and this high country station was known as the Lake Ohau Station. These huge high country stations were eventually broken up (around 1916) into smaller holdings as the population was unhappy about a small number of people owning the majority of the land. Sheep and beef farming continues to the present around Lake Ōhau.
Skiing Ōhau Ski Field is located on the western shore of the lake and is a 20 minute drive up a 9.6 km well-formed access road from the Lake Ohau Lodge. It is well known for its consistent snow, variety of runs and friendly atmosphere. The skifield was established in 1953 on Mount Sutton. As of 2020, it has a double chairlift, a platter and a snow mat. The 2-seater chairlift reaches 1825 metres above sea level and from there, many intrepid skiers walk the remaining 100 vertical metres to the ridge to enjoy the views of the Southern Alps before skiing back down. Ōhau Ski Field has significant snow making capability. The Glen Mary Ski Club was created in 1958 and a single room building was built on land between Freehold Creek and Parson’s Creek on the shores of Lake Ōhau. The club buildings have expanded over the years to include a 24 bed bunkhouse and a sauna.
Fishing Lake Ōhau is well known for its brown trout and rainbow trout fishing. It is also possible to catch some small landlocked sockeye salmon, all invasive species of fish which outcompete the native fish species, decreasing the local freshwater biodiversity. Trolling from a boat, spinning from the shore and fly fishing are all popular methods of fishing at Lake Ōhau. Fishing in the Dobson and Hopkins rivers which flow into Lake Ōhau are well known spots for catching trout. There is good access to the lakeshore via the gravel road which runs around the almost all of the eastern and western shorelines. The large weed-beds at the southern end of Lake Ōhau are easily fished with bait such as shrimp and prawn. The Hopkins River mouth provides good fishing however very loose shingle can make wading potentially dangerous. Large floods in this lake following heavy rain occur at regular intervals. On these occasions, Lake Ōhau can be dirty and unfishable for several weeks.
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