Manapouri is a small town in Southland /

Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes ...

, in the southwest corner of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasma ...

, in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. The township is the westernmost municipality in New Zealand. Located at the edge of the

Fiordland National Park Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is by far the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of , and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site. The park ...

, on the eastern shore of

Lake Manapouri Lake Manapouri is located in the South Island of New Zealand. The lake is situated within the Fiordland National Park and the wider region of Te Wahipounamu South West New Zealand World Heritage Area. Māori History According to Māori legen ...

, close to its outflow into the Waiau River,

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on i ...

services are based in the town. Manapouri township is a 20-minute drive from

Te Anau Te Anau is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. In Maori, Te-Anau means the Place of the Swirling Waters. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Te Anau in Fiordland. Te Anau is 155 kilometres north of Invercargill ...

via The town is the gateway to both

Doubtful Sound Doubtful Sound / Patea is a fiord in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. It took second place after Milford Sound as New Zea ...

and

Dusky Sound Tamatea / Dusky Sound is a fiord on the southwest corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park. Geography One of the most complex of the many fiords on this coast, it is also the largest at 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometre ...

and the starting point for many local walking tracks. It is a popular tourist destination, particularly during the summer months.

History

At the intersection of State Highway 95 and Hillside Road is a monument to the

Save Manapouri campaign The Save Manapouri campaign was an environmental campaign waged between 1969 and 1972 in New Zealand to prevent the raising of the levels of lakes Manapouri and Te Anau as part of the construction of the Manapouri Power Project. Origins The ...

which marks the first mass

environmental movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists a ...

in New Zealand history. The

Manapouri Hydroelectric Power Station Manapōuri Power Station is an underground hydroelectric power station on the western arm of Lake Manapouri in Fiordland National Park, in the South Island of New Zealand. At 854 MW installed capacity (although limited to 800 MW due t ...

is located on the West Arm of

, with most of the electricity generated serving the

Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter The Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter is an aluminium smelter owned by Rio Tinto Group (79.36%) and the Sumitomo Group (20.64%), via a joint venture called New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) Limited. The facility, New Zealand's only aluminium sm ...

(which is announced to close at the end of 2024). Workers at the power plant are ferried by boat from Manapouri, as there is no road access to the power station. Manapouri was declared the "highest consumer of water" in New Zealand in 2010 because of the power station, which consumes 41 percent of the fresh water consumed by the entire country. In 2002, the Government rejected an application of a business, Southland Water 2000, to bottle 40,000 cubic metres of water in 20 hours, twelve times a year, before the water from the power station is released into Doubtful Sound.

Demographics

Manapouri is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement. It covers , and is part of the larger Mararoa statistical area. Manapouri had a population of 222 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sh ...

, an increase of 21 people (10.4%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 72 people (−24.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 102 households. There were 117 males and 108 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.08 males per female. The median age was 56.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 21 people (9.5%) aged under 15 years, 30 (13.5%) aged 15 to 29, 111 (50.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 63 (28.4%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 94.6% European/Pākehā, 9.5% Māori, 1.4% Asian, and 4.1% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Although some people objected to giving their religion, 54.1% had no religion, 41.9% were Christian and 2.7% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 30 (14.9%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 51 (25.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $30,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 108 (53.7%) people were employed full-time and 36 (17.9%) were part-time.

Facilities & attractions

Commercial services include a petrol station/garage, art gallery, cafes, shops, two restaurant and bars as well as overnight hotel, motel and motor camp accommodations. The small Te Anau Airport is situated north of the township and serves both Te Anau and Manapouri. There are several tourist boat excursions based in Manapouri to service the Fiordland Sounds to fishing charters and boat hire. Excursions originating at Pearl Harbour at the southern end of Manapouri township take tourists across Lake Manapouri to view the underground hydroelectric facility, or continue on by bus over Wilmot Pass to boat tours of Doubtful Sound, adding up to a full day trip. Manapourimonument

Walkways & Cycleways

Day walks are the Circle Track, the

Hope Arm Track Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

, the Shallow Bay portion of the

Kepler Track The Kepler Track is a circular hiking track which travels through the landscape of the South Island of New Zealand and is situated near the town of Te Anau. The track passes through many landscapes of the Fiordland National Park such as rocky m ...

and the Frazers Beach Reserve walkways. Supply Bay Road and the Rainbow Reach area are reasonably cycle-friendly. The Manapouri-Te Anau Cycle trail is currently still under negotiation between the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

and the Fiordland Trails Trust. A natural monument, in the form of Monument Hill, lies across the lake from the township. This sharply pointed landmark beneath the

Hunter Mountains The Hunter Mountains of Lake Manapouri, New Zealand, were named by surveyor James McKerrow after the famous anatomist John Hunter. The Hunter Mountain Range covers an area between The South Arm and Hope Arm of Lake Manapouri South to the Gre ...

to the west on Manapouri township is a prized destination for adventurous trampers. Mowog_Creek

Kayaking

The eastern end of

is possibly the best waterway in New Zealand for kayak exploration with 20 islands and many coves, beaches, lagoons, waterfalls, huts, portages and channels with in a days return paddled from Manapouri township.

Lord of the Rings filming locations

Manapouri was a site of filming for

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

's the Lord of the Rings trilogy. During a late snowstorm one November, Manapouri Hall was used to film the scene in the Two Towers in which Frodo, Samwise and Gollum attempt to enter the black gates of Mordor. According to Jackson, the townspeople only asked for a small fee for the film crew to use the hall but the production gifted a large sum for the refurbishment of the hall and in acknowledgement of the town's generosity. The crew was not allowed to use large granite boulders located in the forest near Lake Manapouri and instead created artificial rocks, two of which were gifted to the townspeople. Other locations near the town were used for filming, including the Kepler Mire (for panning, aerial shots of the Dead Marshes and other swamps), Waiau River (for various shots of the River Anduin) and Norwest Lakes (for the iconic shot of the fellowship traversing mountain peaks). It is also rumoured that locations in the Fiordland National Park were used in the Ring of Power season one, as a film crew were spotted near Manapouri.

Wee Bookshop

Manapōuri is home to the Wee Bookshop, made famous through the memoir of Ruth Shaw's. The bookshops were built in 2020 and originally sold titles about the local region and conservation. It now consists of two tiny bookshops - one for adults, the smaller, for children.

Climate

Manapouri has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(''Cfb'') under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

with mild summers and cool to cold winters. In a typical winter season, snowfalls and snow on the ground are likely on a handful of occasions.

Gallery

Image:Frasers Beach Walk.jpg, View from Frazers Beach Reserve Image:Mpr ZedVill.JPG, Autumn view along Mararoa Drive with snow-dusted Mount Moturau in the distance Image:Mpr CBD.JPG, Manapouri commerce Image:Approaching Manapouri from the lake.jpg, Manapouri township from Lake Manapouri

References

External links

Lake Manapouri area (Department of Conservation)Te Anau and Manapouri community website
{{Southland District Fiordland Populated places in Southland, New Zealand Populated lakeshore places in New Zealand