New Zealand Blue Lake, Saint Bathans

This sensationel lake is the result of the gold mining. In the 1860s or 70s it was begun to remove a 120 m high hill here. For this, amongst others, with water cannons the soil was washed away. From the hill in the early 1930s had become a hole about 60 m deep, from which water and soil was sucked through pipes. Then the mining was stopped because the edges of the hole came too close to the village and endangered it. Groundwater filled the hole and made the lake. Its unusual blue is caused by minerals in the lake bottom and contrasted by the bright banks.

The lake is right at the village, you can park by the lake, there are trails around the lake.
A few hundred meters away is a simple, large public Campsite.