Blog Layout
Mackenzie Magic
WORDS Megan Miller

Just a few hours’ drive from Christchurch, the beauty of the Mackenzie is easily accessible for a long weekend getaway or a week-long family holiday. The main thing is to allow plenty of time to explore and discover all the hidden treasures and adventures, large and small, that are on offer.


The Mackenzie takes its name, famously, from an outlaw. James Mackenzie, a Scotsman who got in some trouble stealing cattle in the Highlands, came to New Zealand and continued his old tricks. He and one loyal dog, so the story goes, managed to steal 1000 sheep from a station near Timaru and drove them 40 miles to what is now Mackenzie Pass. He was found, captured, and almost immediately escaped, fleeing into the rugged countryside at night without boots. He reappeared 10 days later and 200 kilometres away in Lyttleton, and was arrested, tried and sentenced to five years of hard labour. Through a bit of legal wrangling he managed to secure a pardon the next year, boarded a ship to Australia, and vanished from the record.


While the modern-day residents of the Mackenzie are generally more law-abiding, there remains something in these grand vistas and wide-open spaces that feels wild, free and unconstrained. Here, in the shadow of New Zealand’s highest peak, life seems full of limitless opportunities for exploration. From the Māori people who first travelled and hunted this land, to the modern explorers such as Sir Edmund Hillary, something in this place stirred countless adventurers and still calls out to the vagabond in us all.



As the Canterbury Plains give way to the rolling green foothills of the Southern Alps, before you know it you’re in Fairlie, home to the internationally-famous Fairlie Bakehouse, which should certainly be in the running for the title ‘Best Pie Shop in New Zealand’. Don’t miss the chance to stop for a classic mince and cheese, or a decadent pork belly and apple sauce pie complete with crispy crackling on top.

While in Fairlie, take the opportunity to browse the many lovely shops and boutiques in the town centre, and see if your exploring leads you to the statue commemorating James Mackenzie and his faithful dog.


From Fairlie it’s only a short drive to the lakeside resort town of Takapō/Lake Tekapo, but it’s well worth allowing extra time to stop off along the way at the art galleries in the tiny village of Kimbell, as well as the shops and historic sites of Burkes Pass village. The small, quaint appearance of the Burkes Pass settlement is misleading – the little town has a rich history and in the 1800s was briefly planned to be the capital of the Mackenzie District.

An aerial view of a water park with lots of swimming pools
A group of children are ice skating on a rink.

A few minutes further on, the drive over a last rise and down into Takapō/Lake Tekapo offers the first views of one of the Mackenzie’s famous turquoise lakes. The water, an otherworldly milky blue, takes its colour from tiny particles of rock ground down by the glaciers that scoured and carved the landscape. 


Those lakes were the inspiration for the manmade hot pools at Tekapo Springs, which are designed as smaller copies of lakes Tekapo, Pukaki and Ohau. A soak in the hot pools is a glorious relaxation experience, especially in chilly autumn or on a snowy winter day. If you’re travelling with the kids, Tekapo Springs also offers plenty of family activities year-round. In summer, their new Aqua Drop waterslide and giant Jumpernaut inflatable obstacle course provide hours of fun, while in winter the ice skating rink and snow tubing are a perfect way to spend an afternoon.


It is surprising how many Kiwis have made the drive through the Mackenzie Basin, but never turned off for the side trip to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Visiting majestic Aoraki is truly a bucket list experience that all New Zealanders should enjoy at least once. Views of Aoraki are especially spectacular from the Hooker Valley Track, one of our most famous day walks and an outing for children as well as adults. In cold months, with a dusting of snow on the ground, it is transformed into a journey through a hushed winter wonderland.


The national park is home not only to beautiful walks for all fitness levels, but also to some of New Zealand’s most iconic tourism experiences. This year Mount Cook Ski Planes and Helicopters, based at Mount Cook Airport, are celebrating the 65th anniversary of the first landing of a ski plane on the Tasman Glacier. Sir Henry Wigley pioneered ski plane flight in New Zealand by designing the retractable skis which allowed planes to land on snowfields. Today you can still enjoy a ski plane flight and Tasman Glacier landing in the same manner that Wigley first accomplished back in 1955.


While spectacular year-round, autumn and winter just might be the best seasons to visit. For one thing, it’s the time of year that’s still undiscovered by many international visitors, and any crowds that accumulate at popular spots in summer have moved on by late April. Then there’s the landscape, which seems to grow even more dramatic as the days grow shorter. Long golden rays of late afternoon light set the Mackenzie Basin aglow, and the Southern Alps are in their full glory, with fresh snow crowning the tops of the peaks. On cold, clear winter nights, the stars are especially breathtaking – it’s impossible to describe the brilliance of the night sky in the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.

A woman is riding a bike with a child on the back.
A person is sitting at a table with a plate of food and two glasses of wine.
A couple of dome shaped buildings sitting on top of a hill under a starry sky.

Several businesses now offer a variety of experiences to guide your exploration of the stars. Dark Sky Project, formerly Earth & Sky, pioneered astrotourism in the district with its famous stargazing tours atop Mount John. The company is still leading the way with a new indoor digital night sky experience that tells the history of Māori astronomy and life by a seasonal calendar of constellations. Other stargazing options include Tekapo Stargazing, which offers a relaxing soak in the hot pools while gazing at the beauty overhead, and Silver River Stargazing, which guides guests onto a high country station where the stars sparkle against a backdrop of clear, dark sky.



Then there’s the skiing, which is the heart of winter recreation for many locals. The Mackenzie boasts several ski fields, with Roundhill Ski Area near Takapō/Lake Tekapo, Mount Dobson near Fairlie, Ohau Snow Fields near Twizel and the Fox Peak Ski Area club field. Mackenzie skiing is one of the best-kept secrets of Otago residents, who have long escaped the crowded Queenstown ski fields for weekend getaways to enjoy short lift lines and open slopes.


Recent stories

A cookbook is sitting on top of a wooden stand on a kitchen counter.

How to Make an Adjustable Cookbook Stand

By Klaudia Krupa • May 22, 2024
With its sliding base, this stand can snugly hold any recipe card, tablet or cookbook – no matter how chunky or slim. Choose your favourite colours to ensure it is the perfect match for your kitchen or as a great gift idea. Plus, when it’s not in use, you can easily store both parts flat! What you need: 1 x 300 x 230 mm sheet of pine board, 18 mm thick (backboard) 1 x 300 x 150 mm sheet of pine board, 18 mm thick (baseboard) 1 x 120 mm pine dowel, 12 mm thick 2 x 40 mm pine dowels, 8 mm thick Drill and drill bits Drop saw Drop sheet Jigsaw or reciprocating saw Measuring tape Paintbrush and mini roller Resene testpots – we used Resene Gold Dust and Resene Apache Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel paint, tinted to your choice of colour – we used Resene Bokara Grey Resene Quick Dry waterborne primer Ruler Sandpaper Wood glue Step 1: Cut your wood to the sizes listed above. Step 2: Measure and mark out a 155 x 25 mm slot, positioned 40 mm up from the base of the backboard, as shown. Step 3: Drill a hole in each corner of the marked slot to give your saw a starting point. Then, use either a jigsaw or reciprocating saw to carefully cut out the slot. Step 4: Smooth out any rough edges with sandpaper. Step 5: To make the handle, drill two 8 mm holes in the 12 mm dowel. Each hole should be drilled three quarters of the way through the dowel, centred and positioned 20 mm from each end. Begin by drilling small pilot holes to guide the larger drill bit.
A dog is laying on a dog bed in a living room next to a couch.

Too Good to be True?

By Nathan Miglani • May 22, 2024
We are on the cusp of a once-in-a-decade influx of properties on the market. Nathan Miglani, Director of NZ Mortgages, explains. As we have discussed, in the aftermath of the election we saw immediate momentum in the market. Since March we have seen this start to drop as the reality of interest rates remaining high dampened buyers’ appetite. Petrol prices are high, the cost of living continues to increase and while the OCR is holding, and forecasted to hold for the next few months, people are hurting, which in turn sees the property market slow. But there is hope on the horizon – we are predicting that by September/October we will start to see interest rates slowly start to come down, but do not expect them to drop as quickly as they rose. We are seeing some banks offer as low as 5.99 per cent on a three-year loan, and while this might sound good now, my advice is still to only fix for a short term to avoid costly break fees. The most active market we are seeing right now is in the $800,000 – $1.3 million range with lots of buying and selling happening. This is set to ramp up come 1 July with the changes to the bright-line property rule when it comes to being taxed on capital gain – dropping from 10 years (or five years for a new build) to two. For many it will seem too good to be true, but it is! This is set to put in motion a once-in-a-decade influx of properties to the market from Mum-and-Dad investors who are currently hurting with the high interest rates, creating massive opportunity for both first home buyers and first-time investors. Other sectors of the market continue to feel the pinch and as an advocate and passionate developer it was important to me to be able to assist the construction sector, which sees the launch of our construction division, Construction Loans. This is for those who have decided to build their first home, right up to those developing a subdivision. It is about helping everyone achieve their goals – which underpins everything we do. For this sector, it is about ensuring that the finances are in order before it is too late. Arranging finance for building a property is different from securing finance on an existing home, and it is critical to consider the best way to structure repayments on the section and the build while maintaining lifestyle.  It is about empowering builders, developers and everyone to make informed decisions that work for their unique situations. There is no one size fits all, which is why it is imperative that you seek professional advice before it’s too late. We are here to help you avoid pitfalls.
A group of young boys are playing soccer on a field.

The Future of Happiness

By Dr Cheryl Doig • May 22, 2024
Dr Cheryl Doig explores why a holistic approach, when it comes to educating, parenting and governing should be considered. It’s a complex world that our young people are growing up in. Societal change, the impact of social media and technology are colliding with climate change, misinformation, disinformation, and warfare. Trust in governments has deteriorated and the world is more polarised. It’s no wonder wellbeing and happiness are such a focus in our schools, our homes and our businesses. The recent results from the 2024 Global Happiness Index showed that happiness in Aotearoa New Zealand has fallen significantly for all age groups, but by twice as much for the young as for the old. In 2021–2023, our young people were the least happy age group. Females under 30 have one-third more negative emotions than males. Our young people are not thriving. Contrast this with 2006–2010 results, when the young were happier than those in the midlife groups, and about as happy as those aged 60 and over. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt provides some insight into what might be happening here. Haidt refers to our young people as ‘the anxious generation’ and outlines the following as contributing factors: Technology – constant connectedness and the facade of always appearing happy and successful on social media. The cult of safety – overprotective parents and risk aversion – not developing resilience nor the ability to cope with challenges. The loss of play – the decline of unstructured play and outdoor exploration, critical factors for social, emotional and cognitive development. The pressure to succeed – intense academic and extracurricular expectations. The loneliness epidemic – social isolation is more prevalent even though our children appear more ‘connected’. These are deep social issues that have no simple solution. What is needed is an holistic approach to parenting, educating and governing. A focus on literacy, numeracy and sciences alone is not going to lead to a wellbeing economy. Supportive relationships and acceptance of diversity matter more than ever. Creative and critical thinking, play and physical exercise cannot be forgotten. Futures thinking is one way of developing resilience, risk taking and autonomy, as it explores alternative world views and encourages anticipating a range of scenarios. Many of our teachers know this but struggle with the ever-changing pendulum swings of successive governments. They’re exhausted and not so happy in their work. Schools need that sense of community support. We are overdue for a bipartisan collective vision for education in order to create a future where our young people thrive, are hopeful and happy. It’s not all doom and gloom. We can make a positive difference! As parents, whānau and communities, my challenge to you is to consider one item from the bullet point list above. Lean into it and give your children a bit of space to be children and have joy in their lives. Don’t crowd them, cosset them and control them so much. Walk alongside and guide them. Let them learn from failure with you as their coach. Celebrate successes.
Share by: