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Bluewater Resort
On this project we had a lot to live up to.
The Location
Lake Tekapo, in the Mackenzie Country, is a turquoise lake lying at an altitude of 700m in an alpine basin and owes its colour to glacial action leaving finely-ground rock particles suspended in the water. The contract of the remarkable blue-green colour of the water against the golden land, with white-capped mountains all around is captivating. It is here that the resort of Bluewater has been created.
The region is two-and-a-half hours drive from Christchurch and about three from Dunedin, an ideal distance from either city of a second home or a holiday resort.
Recreational opportunities abound. In season, there are ski fields operating at Round Hill and, a little further away, Mt Dobson and Fox Peak. All year round the open terrain lends itself to horse-riding, mountain biking, tramping, hunting and landscape photography. On Lake Tekapo and other waterways in the region, fishing, kayaking and jet boating are all popular. And at night, in Tekapo’s clean air, the sky comes into its own. From all over the world, amateurs and professionals come to study the heavens and gaze up at the stars.
The Challenges
This is an area of outstanding natural beauty, with seasonal extremes of weather, where any development must respect and work with the landscape, climate, native flora and fauna, human heritage and current needs of the inhabitants. Every development project must take into account the effects that it may have on its surroundings. In this case, the pristine lake waters had to be protected from the potential effects of development and stringent approvals were required to ensure that suitable mechanisms were planned.
The Solution
Working within this unspoilt environment, Davis Ogilvie conceived and designed stormwater management systems that achieve exceptionally high standards of treatment for all rainfall run-off from the Bluewater site.
Areas within the hotel site were landscaped to serve a dual purpose as rain gardens that collect and filter stormwater while providing aesthetic benefits to the site environment. Careful planting ensures that these practical features add to the environment in a way that works with the project and site, rather than imposing features that are out of character. The Lake will be protected by these state-of-the-art solutions.
The Result
Bluewater Resort at Tekapo offers very high-quality accommodation and recreation services. It operates within a supportive community that values and aims to protect the region’s clear airs, clean water and exceptional environment for many more generations to enjoy.
We at Davis Ogilvie are pleased to have the opportunity to continue to develop high-quality sensitive and aesthetically-pleasing solutions that will continue to add value to the project, the community and the environment.