Lake Waihola is a 640 ha tidal freshwater

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

located 15 km north of Milton in Otago, in New Zealand's South Island. Its area is some 9 square kilometres, with a maximum length of 6 kilometres and a mean depth of 0.75m. It is the larger of a pair of existing lakes—the other being Lake Waipori—which lie in a small area of low hills between the Taieri and Tokomairaro. Waihola is drained by the

Waipori River The Waipori River is in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. Rising in the Lammerlaw Range, it flows southeast for before joining the Taieri River near Henley, southwest of Dunedin of which it is officially the southernmost border. Goog ...

, a tributary of the Taieri. Both lakes are very shallow and surrounded by wetlands, including the internationally renowned and protected

Sinclair Wetlands The Sinclair Wetlands (''Te Nohoaka o Tukiauau'') are an internationally renowned wetlands located to the south west of Dunedin, New Zealand, at the southern edge of the Taieri Plains. They are on the western side of Lake Waipori and approximate ...

which are the home to many species of wading birds. This shallowness is reflected in the name Waihola, the southern Māori form of the word ''waihora'', which means "spreading waters". Lake Waihola is a popular day trip for holidaymakers from

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, 40 km to the north. The small township of Waihola (population 200), nestled against the lake's eastern edge, has facilities for

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboats, ...

, and

waterskiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffici ...

, and the lake is an important

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

venue.

History

Lake Waihola was used in the

Central Otago goldrush The Otago Gold Rush (often called the Central Otago Gold Rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – ...

. Ships used to travel up the Taieri River and across to the southern side of the lake where prospectors would traverse the hills and on to Gabriel's Gully. In the early days of settlement a paddle-steamer, the ''Betsy Douglas'', plied the lake's waters from Owhiro, near Henley in the north to Clarendon at the lake's southern end. Lake Waihola is located at the southern end of the lower

Taieri Plains The Taieri Plain (also referred to in the plural as the Taieri Plains) is an area of fertile agricultural land to the southwest of Dunedin, in Otago, New Zealand. The plain covers an area of some 300 square kilometres, with a maximum extent of ...

and is the largest of a group of historical lakes that were once distributed between Lake Waihola and

Mosgiel Mosgiel (Māori: ''Te Konika o te Matamata'') is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin ...

. Other neighbouring historical lakes include Lake Tatawai, Loch Ascog,

Loch Katrine Loch Katrine (; or ) is a freshwater loch in the Trossachs area of the Scottish Highlands, east of Loch Lomond, within the historic county and registration county of Perthshire and the contemporary district of Stirling. The loch is about ...

, Lake Potaka and Silverstream LagoonBray, Sharon. "Under the Eye of the Saddle Hill Taniwha", 1998.

Etymology

Waihola's name creates some interest as the Māori alphabet generally does not contain the letter ' L'. It is, however, found in Southern Māori dialect, and is also found in several other central and southern South Island place names, such as Wangaloa in Otago and Little Akaloa in Canterbury. The word ''Waihola'' is generally accepted to be the southern variant of the word ''wai-hora'', meaning "spreading waters".

Ecosystems

Lake Waihola has attracted international interest due to the ecosystems based in a shallow freshwater tidal system. Since 2000, Danish scientists have been conducting annual studies of the lake. Waihola is reputedly the home to a species of otter, the cryptid waitoreke, but no verified sightings have ever confirmed the animal's existence.New Zealand Ecological Society report
(PDF format).

Health warnings

Health warnings related to algae have been issued on the lake as of March 2017.

References

{{Authority control Waihola, Lake Waihola, Lake Clutha District Taieri River

History

Etymology

Ecosystems

Health warnings

See also

References