Destination MacKenzie Basin.

After the Rugby World Cup is over, why not plan a visit to one of New Zealand’s most unique regions, the stunningly beautiful MacKenzie Basin. Many visitors enroute to Queenstown and Milford Sound simply pass through the district, with perhaps a brief stop to view iconic Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand’s tallest mountain.

Our suggestion is that you should perhaps plan on spending a few days in the MacKenzie Basin because there is plenty for you to enjoy. Tekapo, Twizel and Omarama are the three townships that service the basin and each of these has attractions of their own, as well as excellent restaurants, bars, café s and other facilities. However, Twizel the town that should not even be there has the most colourful history, but more about that in a moment.

The MacKenzie Basin was named after John McKenzie, a notorious sheep rustler, who used the area as a place to run his stolen stock, far away from prying eyes. He was eventually caught. A statue dedicated to MacKenzie’s faithful dog stands guard at the top of Burke’s Pass what had been the rustler’s secret route into the MacKenzie Basin.

The other thing that makes the MacKenzie Basin unique, is that it contains some of the largest earthworks ever undertaken anywhere on the planet. The network of hydro canals linking the district’s many damned lakes is visible to the naked eye by astronauts orbiting the earth.

The mammoth undertaking took 18-years to complete and the town of Twizel, built on what was a barren plain in the heart of the basin, was purpose-built to house the workers. The town was named after a village in Scotland and the name Twizel means ‘place of trees’, which was quite ironic given the treeless plain on which it was constructed. The original intention was that Twizel would be demolished once the hydro project was completed. However, many of those who worked on the project had come to love the area and the town, so they lobbied long and hard to save it.

Today, Twizel is a thriving, bustling town that is base for many tourism operations, with helicopter and fixed wing sightseeing tours. There are fishing and hunting guiding operations. Cycle and walking tours are based here, as is one of New Zealand’s major rowing courses on nearby Lake Ruataniwha. There is also a large camping ground beside the beautiful lake. So, why not plan a stopover in the MacKenzie Basin on your Southern tour.