Revealing Lake Wanaka through the lives of local personalities

A series of video stories highlighting Lake Wanaka’s personalities, exceptional lifestyle and what makes the destination a special place has been launched.

Revealing Lake Wanaka takes the visitor on a visual and narrative journey through the lives of residents in the world’s first lifestyle reserve, to reach beneath the surface and discover the heart of Lake Wanaka.

The first in the series offers an insight in to one of Wanaka’s food and wine personalities, Nick Mills. A local winemaker, Nick was raised on the shores of Lake Wanaka at Rippon Vineyard, arguably one of the world’s most beautiful locations for a vineyard. A former New Zealand freestyle ski team member now a renowned winemaker, Nick returned to Wanaka in 2002 after training and working at several prestigious vineyards in France. Nick creates award winning organic wines that follow biodynamic principles.

“We have been here on the shores of Lake Wanaka for four generations and it would be lovely to be here for another four. This is of course exactly what I want to be doing, and exactly where I want to be doing it,” said Mills.

Lake Wanaka Tourism’s general manager James Helmore said the characters featured in the series are genuinely excited about sharing their knowledge and Lake Wanaka’s secret spots.

“The people who live in Wanaka are passionate about what they do and where they live and eager to share this with international and domestic visitors. Revealing Lake Wanaka is a way of exposing the diversity of what is on offer to the rest of the world so that visitors come to love it as much as they do,” he said.

Lake Wanaka’s location at the foot of the Southern Alps combines spectacular scenery with a genuine sense of community, where residents are enthusiastic about the environment and what they do, be this arts and culture, hiking, skiing, mountain biking, watersports or food and wine.

The documentary styled video series was filmed and produced by local film maker Tim Pierce. Episode two will be launched next month. Revealing Lake Wanaka can be viewed online:
www.lakewanaka.co.nz/new-zealand/Revealing-lake-wanaka/