▲ Lake Pukaki is located in the Mackenzie Basin in the central South Island of New Zealand, at an elevation of approx. 500 m. As one of the large glacial lakes in the South Island, it covers an area of approx. 178 km². The lake's unique "milky blue" or "turquoise" color comes from glacial flour suspended in the water that scatters sunlight. On clear days, it forms a classic "mountain-lake framed view" with the distant Southern Alps and Aoraki/Mount Cook.