Lake Hakanoa

About

Lake Hakanoa is located within the eastern side of the Huntly township, in the Waikato Region of New Zealand. Lake Hakanoa is a riverine lake with links to the Waikato River, which lies 300 m (330 yd) to the west. A smaller lake lies within wetland near the southeastern edge of Hakanoa. There is a 3.6 km (2.2 mi) walking track around the perimeter of the lake. The lake is 52 ha (130 acres) in size, has a maximum depth of 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in), with a catchment area of 613 ha (1, 510 acres). The domain, lake, edges and wetland cover 93 ha (230 acres). The lake level is controlled by a weir on the Hakanoa Stream, which drains to north into the Waikato River. The lake was lowered over 2 ft (0.61 m) in 1923, though drainage work had also been done in 1911. When Māori first came in the 14th century, tuna (eels) were plentiful in all the local lakes. After the invasion of the Waikato, Lake Hakanoa was usually referred to as a swamp and coal mine workings and spoil tips surrounded the lake, with a shaft close by, started after a new mine opened on the east bank after 1910. In 1932 unemployment relief schemes formed the tips into Huntly School grounds (in 1960 the municipal landfill south of the school was added), a rifle range and soccer club. In 1911 Lake Hakanoa was declared a game sanctuary and in 1926 it became a wildlife reserve. However, to improve fisheries, attempts were made to re

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.