Lake Matheson — Attraction in South Island

Of both visits to New Zealand, Lake Matheson has been on my must visit and been there done that list. Now that glacier is out of reach for casual walkers, Lake Matheson seems to be higher up on the must do list. And from my experience it is worth visiting twice or more times, preferably at different time of day. It is that good!

Visiting Lake Matheson in the morning has been really wonderful experience in my trip. Even just departing from the parking, in a clear morning where fog covers the landscape to make the view seemingly surreal and film like. In the far corner of the landscape lies the snow capped mountains, which I believe is the Mount Cook. I can just sit here and enjoy this spectacular view for hours. No wonder there is a cafe here.

The walk around the lake is a cicular route. Which ever direction you are taking doesn't matter much. If walking clock wise around the lake, in 20 minutes you will arrive at the reflection point, which is good spot for taking in the view of the calm lake and the mountains, if the wind condisions permits. Walking counter-clockwise you will reach Jetty Viewpoint in about 30 minutes, which is a great spot to observe the bigger part of the lake, along with the remote mountain view of Mt. Cook. Either way, during half way you could choose to visit View of Views, which like the previous 2 lookouts but with a higher elevation.

The gift shop are worth visiting and payed attention to. Many of the souvenier items I saw in the shop I decided to reconsider and expected to find similar items later in the trip with perhaps more bargain price, a mistake I have made in the trip. Even a simple key chain sold in different part of the south island is likely to have different pattern on it. If you like some items very much, just buy it and...

Lake Matheson is a world famous reflection lake, around 5-6 kms outside of the village of Fox Glacier in South Island. The lake is perfectly situated to the west of the Southern Alps mountain range and boasts mirror like reflections of Mount Cook.

The trek is a 2.6 loop trail. The best spot to see the mountain reflections is at the Jetty Viewpoint on the south side of lake. The key is to visit when there is no wind otherwise the reflections will be highly disturbed by ripples on the surface of the water. It is suggested to try to visit at dawn or just after dusk.

During a recent visit, we arrived in the late afternoon and walked the south side of the lake to the old jetty viewpoint. We sat on the benches here for around an hour waiting for dusk. The reflections were very poor early on, disappointing many fellow visitors who stopped by at that time.

Then dusk came and the breeze died. Within a few minutes the lake's surface was calm, creating beautiful reflections of the mountains on the lake surface, rewarding those of us who had stuck around to view this remarkable scenery.

Note: There is a large carpark area at Lake Matheson to accommodate the large number of visitors that frequent the lake each day. There are public toilets, a gift shop and cafe...

Lake Matheson is known for its reflection of the beautiful fox glacier and the southern alps. It is a gorgeous lake located at the west coast of New Zealand and definitely worth a day trip. The walk around the lake is well maintained and there is a nice cafe at the parking lot.

As a passionate landscape photographer I would like to give you 3 Quick tips for better photos at Lake Matheson and especially for the viewpoint on “Reflection Island”:

Be there at sunrise or sunset. You will have beautiful light for your photo and less tourists at the spot.

Show the beautiful reflection of the mountains, which are shown on the lake surface. It can help to lower your viewing angle, so get ready to squat. On the plus side this counts as sport so you have an excuse to buy a piece of cake at the cafe. :)

Bring a tripod to take sharper photos or to experiment with long exposures.

I hope my little tips will help you take better photos at this magnificent spot. If you like you can visit my Instagram Profile domenic.boernicke for more photography tips and landscape photos from New Zealand. I am looking forward to welcome you...