Lake Constance (New Zealand)

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Clear Rochester lake in the world

The Lake Constance ( Māori Rotopōhueroa ) is a small lake in the region Tasman in Nelson Lakes National Park in the north of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located in the northern part of the Southern Alps.

The lake is drained by the West Branch of the Sabine River, which is part of the river system of the Buller River. He feeds the much smaller Blue Lake. The water seeping underground through the debris of a landslide, the anstaute the Lake Constance.

Role in the Māori

The Rotopōhueroa is in the Rohe ( tribal area ) of the iwi Ngāti Apa ki te rA Tō. The lake has traditionally been used in ceremonies in which the bones of dead female cleaned and the soul of the deceased was discharged to his journey to the mythical Hawaiki. For the Iwi the lake water is therefore tapu. The Blue Lake was used for the same purpose for male deceased. The name of the lake in the language of Māori, Rotopōhueroa, means " Long gourd ".