Lake Rotoiti

Lake Rotoiti is the name of two lakes in New Zealand:

Lake Rotoiti (Bay of Plenty)

Lake Rotoiti is a lake in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. It is the northwesternmost in a chain of lakes formed within the Okataina caldera. The lake is close to the northern shore of its more famous neighbour, Lake Rotorua, and is connected to it via the Ohau Channel. It drains to the Kaituna River, which flows into the Bay of Plenty near Maketu.

The full name of the lake is Te Rotoiti-kite-a-Īhenga, which in the Māori language means "The Small Lake Discovered By Īhenga", the Māori explorer also credited with discovering Lake Rotorua. Legend says that the lake was named as such because when Ihenga first saw it, he was only able to see a small part of it and thought the lake was a lot smaller.

Since the 1960s, the quality of lake water has been negatively affected by inflows of nitrogen rich water from Lake Rotorua, agricultural run-off from surrounding farms and seepage from domestic septic tanks. The effects of this included an almost permanent algal bloom in the Okere arm of the lake and choking lake weed growth in other still areas of the lake. A barrier to divert the nutrient rich waters of Lake Rotorua into the Kaituna River was completed in late 2008. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council expected to see improvement in lake water quality within five years and the Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Program reported in 2013 that the intervention has significantly improved water quality. Water quality is the highest it has been in decades, on track to meet targets set by the Program to meet community expectations.

Lake Rotoiti (Tasman)

Lake Rotoiti, previously also known as Lake Arthur, is a lake in the Tasman Region of New Zealand. It is a substantial mountain lake within the borders of Nelson Lakes National Park. The lake is fed by the Travers River, water from the lake flows into the Buller River. The lake is surrounded by Beech forest and is 82 metres deep. Saint Arnaud is a small community at the northern end of the lake.

The first European to see the lake was John Sylvanus Cotterell on 18 January 1843. Thomas Brunner and Charles Heaphy reached the lake in November 1843, and Heaphy named it Lake Arthur after Captain Arthur Wakefield, but the Māori name remained.

Tramping tracks circle the lake, including the Lakehead track on the east side and the Lakeside track on the west side. There is a water taxi service that travels the length of the lake ferrying trampers to and from the Coldwater and Lakehead huts at the head of the lake. Rotoiti is also a popular place for waterskiing and is adjacent to Mt Robert, which hosted a small club-owned skifield, until it was removed by DOC in 2005.