Mackenzie Basin - Settlement and Activities

Settlement and Activities

Sparsely populated, and with only five settlements (Lake Tekapo, population <500; Mount Cook Village, population <150; Twizel, population <1,000; Omarama, population <400 and Fairlie, population <800), the Mackenzie Country comprises an area of huge glacial lakes and snow-capped mountains, particularly favoured by tourists and skiers.

The Ohau skifield near Omarama, and Roundhill and Mount Dobson Ski Areas at Lake Tekapo, are small commercial skifields popular amongst many living in Canterbury and Otago.

The Mackenzie Country is frequently utilised as the principal and second-unit location for television commercials, documentaries, and motion pictures, including much of Peter Jackson's epic Lord of the Rings film trilogy and The Hobbit movies.

Gliding is another common activity within the Mackenzie Basin, and the area was host to a Gliding World Cup event in 1995, as well as being the home of several gliding clubs, airfields, and numerous private glider pilots, of both amateur and professional status.

Due to its clean, dry and dark sky, the Mackenzie Basin serves as an important area for New Zealand-based astronomy, with a number of related facilities located there, including the nation's premier astronomical observatory, the University of Canterbury's Mount John University Observatory, and several amateur observatories. Astronomy-related tourism is an increasing contributor to the area's economy, with more astro-tourism ventures in development near Lake Tekapo, Mount Cook village (planetarium) and Omarama. Each June the annual mid winter star party is held at new moon on the Omarama airfield.

Plans are currently well-progressed to have the Mackenzie Basin designated as a Dark Sky Reserve, possibly the World's first, that will probably result in strengthening local ordinances to prevent light pollution. A recent World Heritage Committee meeting in Seville in 2009 was positive about the proposed project.