Mackenzie Country

The Mackenzie Country is a highland region of some 5000 sq.km below the mountains of the Southern Alps, within which are the three large glacier lakes Tekapo, Pukaki and Ohau. It can be reached from the east either by the Burke Pass (Highway 8) or by the little-known Mackenzie Pass (unmade track), to the south of the Burke Pass. This bare plateau covered with tussock grass, cold and snowbound in winter, was settled mainly by Scottish sheep farmers with experience of hill farming.

Must-see attractions nearby:

In recent decades the Mackenzie Country has been much changed by the huge hydroelectric projects of the Upper Waikati Power Development Scheme. The large glacier lakes have been dammed, land on their shores has been drowned by rises in water level and new artificial lakes such as Lake Benmore have been created.

Related Attractions

Lindis Pass

Lindis Pass (970m) links the alpine landscapes of the Mackenzie Country with the bare arid hills of central Otago. The old Maori track through the hills was rediscovered by John T Thomson while surveying this region in 1857 and was soon traveled by large numbers of gold prospectors. In the valley of the Lindis River a number of old farmsteads dating from the time of the early settlers still survive; particularly notable is Morven Hills farm.

Fairlie, New Zealand

On Highway 8, an hour drive northwest of Timaru, is the little township of Fairlie (Canterbury region; pop. 800), the commercial and administrative center of the Mackenzie Country. Until 1968 it was the terminus of a railroad line from Timaru.

Fairlie - Transport Museum of the Mackenzie Carnival Society

The Transport Museum of the Mackenzie Carnival Society displays old carnival floats, coaches and agricultural equipment; the old railroad station is incorporated in the museum. Nearby is an old smithy, grandly named the Mabel Binney Cottage Museum.