Seize the (right) day
Date: 27 Apr 2002, The Press, Christchurch, page B5
Caption(s): Lake Coleridge: pick the right conditions and enjoy the beauty.

Lake Coleridge in a nor'wester can be a fearsome maelstrom. At other times, it can be a vision of tranquillity, says PAT BARRETT.

FACT FILE Lake Coleridge's south shore and intake is reached via Coleridge Road, near Rakaia Gorge, then onto Homestead Road and left (west) into Algidus Road. Follow this for 3km to its junction with Coleridge Intake Road. Turn right (north) and the intake will be reached after a further 2km, 90min from Christchurch. This shoreline is very exposed to north-west gales. Take care if boating not to approach the whirlpool. Even on calm days a breeze/wind will generally rise by mid-morning. Map: K34 & K35.

Lake Coleridge, 500m above sea level in central Canterbury among the foothills, has a fearsome reputation for gales, storms, and "sea-like" conditions when the nor'wester shrieks down from the Southern Alps along the corridor of the Wilberforce Valley, where it raises great dust storms.

The lake, 16km long and only 2-3km across, lies directly in the path of this tempest which descends upon it with unabated fury, accelerating over the narrow sheen of water, further charged with energy by the constricting nature of the surrounding foothills.

Two and three-metre waves are not uncommon during a good blow; their white caps are ripped off and hurled across the surging lake as foam. It is a sight to behold: a mini-hurricane unleashed and stampeding over the deep blue trench.

Dramatic as it may be, it does not invoke thoughts of a quiet wander by the lake, fishing, and camping, yet with a little careful reading of the local weather patterns, an altogether different experience can be gained, when the nature of the lake is reversed.

A fine settled spell of weather will usually follow in the wake of a sharp southerly change, and this is the time to seize the day and venture to the lake shore for a visual treat of colour and tranquillity.

I choose to camp with my young daughter on a tussock bench just above the lake outlet on the southern edge of the lake. To capture such a day on film will set it forever in my memory. It is extraordinary.

Dawn at first reveals dark, hummocky mountains ranged along both sides of the lake, steepening in profile, with an added touch of snow tinged in rose hues, as they march away up the gut of the Wilberforce Valley.

A breath of wind sighs once over the lake, a precursor to the sun's imminent arrival and the scattering of shadows beneath the mountains. Tussock and mountain flank glow salmon pink in the herald of the day, their colour captured fleetingly by the lake waters before the full light of day cleans the landscape of the raven wings of night.

With steam puffing from a billy set over the hiss of the primus we rise, leisurely, to sample the chill of the morning and observe the lake's long finger directing our gaze toward the distant alps.

As the sun warms our tent and tussock we move on down to the shore, eager to capture the mood of the lake which lies like a giant sheet of indigo satin, stretched taut from shore to shore, reflecting the amphitheatre of peaks and valleys. With low lake levels, it is possible to wander for 2-3km along the southern shore of the lake, heading west towards Peak Hill. Gravel beaches and boulders give passage along this route and ever-changing views of the lake and environs light the way.

Near the intake for the hydro scheme, which sucks the lake water in a powerful and intimidating whirlpool, stands a breakwater protection wall. This grants fishermen and visitors an unusual vantage of the lake and its depths.

Lake Coleridge is the storage reservoir for the country's first State hydro-electric scheme, built between 1911 and 1914. The station makes use of the 152m altitude difference between the Rakaia River and the lake. Water is taken by two tunnels and feeds via surge chambers into nine generators. It was enlarged in 1924.

The water here is completely transparent, and very cold, and attracts dive schools from all over Canterbury because of its exceptional clarity.

From the end of the breakwater, large monoliths of stone can clearly be seen below in the depths, while above the lake stretches away an endless ribbon of blue silk filling a tawny void among the hills.