When do the leaves change in Canterbury & Mackenzie Country?

Typically April 15–April 20

Poplars and willows planted as farm shelterbelts ring the turquoise lake at Tekapo, turning gold against the water and the tussock-colored Mackenzie Basin below Aoraki/Mount Cook. The stone Church of the Good Shepherd, built in 1935 on the lakeshore, is the classic foreground for the display.

Don’t miss: poplar and willow shelterbelts · Church of the Good Shepherd, built 1935 · Aoraki/Mount Cook backdrop

Typically April 10–April 30

A Mackenzie Basin town built in the 1960s to house the Upper Waitaki hydro workforce, now ringed by planted poplar and willow groves along Lake Ruataniwha, the Wairepo Arm canals and Lake Alexandrina. The color holds about two weeks, framing turquoise glacial water against tussock hills.

Don’t miss: Lake Ruataniwha canal groves · 1960s hydro-scheme town · glacial-blue water against gold poplars

A walking track along the glacier-carved Rakaia Gorge near Methven, following the old ferryman's trail above turquoise braided water before climbing through montane forest and shrub. Mid-Canterbury's planted shelterbelts turn through the season, with Mount Hutt and the Southern Alps as backdrop.

Don’t miss: glacier-carved gorge cliffs · old ferryman's track · Mount Hutt and Southern Alps views