Lake Pukaki
Lake Pukaki is the largest of three roughly parallel alpine lakes running north–south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin on New Zealand’s South Island. The others are Lakes Tekapo and Ohau. All three lakes were formed when the terminal moraines of receding glaciers blocked their respective valleys, forming moraine-dammed lakes. The Alps2Ocean mountain bike trail follows the edge of Lake Pukaki for part of its length. The lake is fed at its northern end by the braided Tasman River, which has its source in the Tasman and Hooker Glaciers, close to Aoraki / Mount Cook. The glacial feed to the lakes gives them a distinctive blue colour, created by glacial flour, the extremely finely ground rock particles from the glaciers. Lake Pukaki covers an area of 178.7 km², and the surface elevation of the lake normally ranges from 518.2 to 532 metres above sea level.
Region: Canterbury
City: Lake Tekapo
Distance: 45.12 km
Elevation Gain: 230 m
Elevation Loss: 450 m
Difficulty: 191 (Easy)
FIETS Index: 0.32 FIETS
Avg Grade: -1.13 %
Max cat climb: 5
Min elevation: 503 m
Max elevation: 790 m
Ride Category: Flat