Published: 29.11.2024
I’m not quite sure why, but somehow Twizel seems like a strange name for a town ... it certainly stands out from the previous place names. On the internet, we learn that Twizel was founded in 1968 on a greenfield site. This was where a residential area was created for the construction workers who built a hydroelectric project on the upper reaches of the Waitiki River. After the project's completion, the residential area was supposed to be dismantled and return to being a green field. The few remaining residents fought against this, and the settlement persisted. So you can imagine that not much happens here. Rather unremarkable overall.
Oh, to be fully accurate: the place was named Twizel because a Scottish land surveyor who worked here named it after a river in his homeland.
So, enough about the history of the place.
Before we move into our “Mountain Chalet”, we make a detour to Lake Pukaki, which is located nearby. The blue or turquoise water is always captivating. However, it is quite windy, which also makes the lake quite choppy. We encounter a whole horde of Chinese or whatever they may be, whose presence is always associated with a large bus in the parking lot. As usual, many Insta-pics are being taken here ... Did I mention that this increasingly aligns less with our understanding ... Everything is staged, the friendly facade crumbles as soon as the trigger is pressed ...
In a small hut by the lake, salmon is sold. The 500-gram pack costs a whopping 50 NZ$, a little more than 25 Euros. Visitors from the Asian region dive into it and consume it directly with chopsticks ... Quite a wild bunch ...
