Circumnavigating the third largest lake in New Zealand, for reforestation efforts around Queenstown

QUEENSTOWN, NZ — Two 15-year-old students have set themselves an ambitious challenge of circumnavigating Lake Whakatipu over the summer break.

“Joel and I were at the Crown Basin at sunset looking across the mountains, with that, we saw the lake and jagged mountains behind it, and then we knew we wanted to explore it,” says Nikau. “Our goal is to circumnavigate Lake Whakatipu. We want to do this to raise awareness for native reforestation efforts and raise funds for the Whakatipu Reforestation Trust. The Whakatipu basin has lost 95% of its indigenous vegetation, with this information, we know that a change must be made. With enough help, we will be able to give reforestation projects much-needed assistance and get our native flora and fauna thriving within our local area.”

Their current plan will see them travelling roughly 250 kilometres with around 8 kilometres of elevation gain over between 10 and 20 days. They hope to summit various peaks throughout the journey.

“We will document the trek for the media so people can check in on the journey, and we will stop at important reforestation sites for documentation to give insight into the efforts being made for our local reforestation and to boost exposure for their projects,” says Nikau.

Keep an eye out for further progress from these students as they set off on their journey in the coming weeks. They are raising funds for planting efforts, and they hope to share this with as many people as possible in the wider community.