IgoUgo

Things To Do in Lake Tekapo

Church of the Good Shepherd


  • Lake Tekapo
Best of IgoUgo

Church of the Good Shepherd -

  • Red Mezz from Inverness
  • September 19, 2008
Church of the Good ShepherdMore Photos
If there is one sight that is more photographed or prolific than the lake itself in Lake Tekapo it is certainly the Church of the Good Shepherd. With it’s charming name and drop dead location perched out on the edge of Lake Tekapo with a picture perfect backdrop against the crystal clear blue lake and the snow covered mountains surrounding it, it’s no wonder people make the trip to this remote little town in the McKenzie just to take their own photos of it.

And it is certainly beautiful, and at a wonderful location. As a photographer I was more than a little intrigued and excited about the prospect of shooting it myself. And in the time I have spent in the area I have gathered a rather nice collection of shots – but there are some unfortunate down falls to this site which make it less than it could and should be.

The building itself is very nice, and is in fact an actual operating church where they hold multi-denominational services on Sunday mornings. So if you are a long way from home and feel the need for a Sunday morning dose of spirituality then the Church of the Good Shepherd could certainly provide that.

It’s also widely used for weddings, not only for the great atmosphere to the place but for the amazing backdrop to scenery and all the photos, as well as the history that is wrapped up in the building itself.

But it loses something immense for me as a tourist attraction in that there is an absolute non-stop flow of buses and tourists in and around it.
For me the appeal of it is it’s stark beauty and it’s placement in the area has great heart in such a remote and beautiful place. It’s loneliness to me is its greatest appeal as it gives it the character and beauty it’s so famous for. The building itself, despite its awe-inspiring location, isn’t that astounding. It’s the character of the place which is so impressive.

For me this is largely lost when it is constantly being surrounded by 20 or 30 people from a tour group all snapping photos and wandering about talking loudly in various accents.
Not to mention what this does to the photo opportunities.

If you are coming to get a shot of The Church, be sure to come at sunset or dawn – and you do seem to get the best light off the lake very early in the morning before the tour buses arrive
Also if you can catch it just after a bit of snow has fallen it looks particularly fresh and beautiful in the morning.

But regardless of what day or time of year it is, there is no point in attempting to photograph it from about 10 am – 430 or 5 pm as it will always be surrounded by tourists and often there are two or even three tour buses parked in the parking lot in front of it which make it impossible to photograph from a distance.

From journal The Visual Perfection of Secluded Lake Tekapo