Moke Lake
Twenty minutes from Queenstown on gravel: a still tussock-rimmed lake with a six-kilometre loop track and a DOC campsite you now have to book before you leave town.
Moke Lake sits in a fold of tussock country twenty minutes from Queenstown, and on a still morning it does the thing everyone comes for — goes flat enough to hold the hills upside down. It is 81 hectares, 45 m deep at most, and ringed by farmland and a bog rather than bush. The lake is also recorded as Punamāhaka and Waikāmāhaka, both taken to mean twin waters, for its shape.
Getting there
Turn off the Glenorchy road 6 km west of Queenstown into Moke Lake Road, then it is roughly 7 km of gravel, steep and winding in places, passing the smaller Lake Kirkpatrick on the way. Two-wheel drives manage it in summer without trouble. In winter the Department of Conservation calls the road four-wheel drive only, and many rental agreements exclude unsealed roads — worth reading yours before you commit.
Walking and riding
- Moke Lake Loop Track — 6 km, 2 to 3 hours, easy to intermediate. Right around the lake.
- Lake Dispute to Moke Lake Track — 5.8 km one way, 2 to 3 hours, intermediate tramping. It crosses private land and steepens near the saddle, with loose rock. Links through to Lake Dispute and the Glenorchy road.
Mountain biking is no longer allowed on either side of the peninsula because of erosion. Ride the western side of the lake.
Camping
The campsite is a DOC standard site, and this is the part that catches people out: you must book before you arrive. No spaces are held for people who turn up. It is $18 a night for adults and $9 for children aged 5 to 17, with same-day online bookings taken until 8pm if there is room. There are toilets, and a camp manager on site over summer. The water is turned off in winter because it freezes, so bring your own.
If it is full, Twelve Mile Delta on the Glenorchy road takes campers without a reservation.
Boats are limited to 5 km/h. Fires only in the designated fireplaces, and only when there is no ban — which in this district there often is. Drones need a permit on conservation land.
Fishing and swimming
Brown trout, and smart ones — Fish and Game rate it for sight-fishing over the shallow weed beds. No boat fishing. The season runs 1 November to 31 May.
People swim here, but Moke Lake is not one of the monitored swim sites, so there is no water quality data for it either way. Check the regional council's toxic algae warnings in summer and use your judgement.
Nearby
Lake Dispute over the saddle, Lake Wakatipu below, and Glenorchy forty minutes further up the road.
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