Kai Iwi Lakes

After the Kauri forests we headed on to our New Years Eve spot at Kai Iwi Lakes. These dune lakes were formed in the Pleistocene as rain water collected in depressions in the sand. Underlying ironstone prevents the water from leaching away. With no inlet or outlet to the lakes, the water is precious and pure. 

There is a campground on the white sandy shores of these lakes, but no other development. In Wellington lakes are rare so we were excited to spend our next few days swimming in freshwater.

We arrived in the afternoon and instantly hit the water.

The big draw was the dock that we could all swim to and jump off.

Like swamp monsters emerging from the deep...

Kiwi in the hills

The next day dawned bright and sunny

We got way too much sun but it was glorious. New Years Eve the campground was full and everyone was ready to party. Our neighbors warned us that they'd been coming to Kai Iwi Lakes for 30 years to celebrate New Years and were going to PARTY. We felt so lucky to be living in a covid free country to be able to even be near crowds that we were fine with the late night noise. 

In the evening we took a walk around the lake. The sunset was a pastel dream.

Happy New Year!