The Whakatipu Basin is a plain surrounded by mountains in

Queenstown Lakes District Queenstown-Lakes District, a local government district, is in the Otago Region of New Zealand that was formed in 1986. It is surrounded by the districts of Central Otago, Southland, Westland and Waitaki. Much of the area is often referred to a ...

, in the southern South Island of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. At the south west corner is found the Queenstown suburb of Frankton and

Queenstown Airport Queenstown Airport is located in Frankton, Otago, New Zealand, and serves the resort town of Queenstown. The airport is from the Queenstown CBD. The airport handled 2.25 million passengers as of 2018 making it the fourth busiest airport ...

. This is where the basin abuts the Frankton arm of Lake Whakatipu. At the northeast corner of the basin is

Arrowtown Arrowtown (Māori: ''Haehaenui'') is a historic gold mining town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Arrowtown is located on the banks of the Arrow River approximately 7.5 km from State Highway 6. Arrowtown is locat ...

and at the NW corner is Arthur's Point. To the south is found the Remarkables mountain range; to the North is

Coronet Peak Coronet Peak is a commercial skifield in Queenstown, New Zealand located seven kilometres west of Arrowtown, on the southern slopes of the 1,649-metre peak which shares its name. A popular ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere, Coronet Peak offe ...

. The

Crown Range The Crown Range is a mountain range that lies to the east of the Wakatipu Basin in Otago, New Zealand. It is noted for two features, the Cardrona Alpine Resort, on the slopes of the 1900 metre Mount Cardrona, and a highway, known as the Crow ...

forms the eastern boundary of the basin. Located centrally in the basin is

Lake Hayes Lake Hayes is a small lake in the Wakatipu Basin in Central Otago, in New Zealand's South Island. It is located close to the towns of Arrowtown and Queenstown. The southern end of the lake is close to , while the western side is bordered by Sl ...

. Much of the basin is drained by the

Kawarau River The Kawarau River is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. It drains Lake Wakatipu in northwestern Otago via the lake's Frankton Arm. The river flows generally eastwards for about and passes through the steep Kawarau Gorge until it joins L ...

. The economy of the basin and surrounding areas is largely supported by tourism, though the importance of the vineyards of the Gibbston Valley and Central Otago wine regions has increased since the 1990s.

Demographics

Wakatipu Basin statistical area covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Wakatipu Basin had a population of 1,356 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 198 people (17.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 336 people (32.9%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 483 households. There were 702 males and 654 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.07 males per female. The median age was 45.7 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 258 people (19.0%) aged under 15 years, 192 (14.2%) aged 15 to 29, 690 (50.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 216 (15.9%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 92.7% European/Pākehā, 3.5% Māori, 0.2% Pacific peoples, 2.9% Asian, and 4.6% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 26.8%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 59.1% had no religion, 33.4% were Christian, 0.2% were Hindu, 0.2% were Buddhist and 2.2% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 381 (34.7%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 81 (7.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $52,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 402 people (36.6%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 594 (54.1%) people were employed full-time, 186 (16.9%) were part-time, and 9 (0.8%) were unemployed.

References

{{Reflist Drainage basins of New Zealand Queenstown-Lakes District Landforms of Otago