MapNew ZealandLake ClearwaterNew Zealand

Lake Clearwater

Canterbury · Ashburton Lakes, Ashburton District · Mount Somers

also known as Te Puna-a-Taka, Te Puna a Taka

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

flat waterbeginner-friendlylow crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Feb–Mar

Months riders and schools name

How windy

25-30 kt

Character: mixed

Room to launch

room to launch not rated

access rules on record, below

Water

flat/chop freshwater lake

High-country freshwater lake at about 667 m, around 197 ha and up to 19 m deep, shallow for its size

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to intermediate

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

low crowds · busy Feb Mar

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

120 min

Christchurch Airport (CHC)

When it fills in

On a sunny summer day the easterly thermal builds around 2-3 pm and can hold until 8 or 9 pm. The nor'wester is synoptic and arrives whenever the system does, at any hour.

Lake Clearwater has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Lake Campno page yet
Lake Heronno page yet
Maori Lakesno page yet
Mount Somersno page yet
Hakatere Conservation Parkno page yet

The spot

Lake Clearwater sits at about 667 m in the Ashburton Lakes, inland Canterbury: 197 ha of freshwater with no motors allowed on it.

Winds

Two winds matter. The Nor'wester is a northwest wind funnelled cold and strong off the mountains; the other is a gentler easterly thermal that fills in around 2-3 pm on sunny summer days and holds until sunset. Easterly days give flat, steady water, and the nor'wester chops it up and gives you something to jump off.

Season and access

February and March are when people actually come, usually camping by the hut settlement at the southern end. The no-motor rule is the part to think about: nothing can come out and get you, so stay inside self-rescue range of a shore you can walk back from.

Getting there

The road in runs 38 km past Mount Somers on Hakatere Potts Road and the last half is unsealed gravel. Almost everything detailed written about riding here comes from windsurfers and wingfoilers rather than kiters, so treat the launch specifics as unconfirmed.

The wind

locals call it Nor'wester

Direction

onshoreNW and E

Direction to shore

The hut settlement and campground sit at the eastern end of the lake, on the side towards Lake Camp, so the afternoon easterly blows off that bank: flat water at your feet and open lake downwind of you.The nor'wester comes across from the mountain side and lands onshore to cross-on there.Inferred from the settlement's position and the flat-water reports, not confirmed by a rider who launches here.

Kite sizes

567891011

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

No kite report exists. Read off the reported wind, a 75-85 kg rider is on about 9 m for a steady 20 kt easterly afternoon and 7 m or less once the nor'wester is in. Indicative, derived from windsurf and wing accounts rather than measured kite sessions.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic (funnelled off surrounding mountains)

Typical strength

The easterly thermal is reported at 20 kt and over, steady, with flat water behind it. The nor'wester runs stronger and colder and chops the lake up; it gets windsurfed on 4.0-5.0 m sails, which is 25-30 kt water. No kite-specific measurement exists for this lake.

Known for reliable strong northwest wind and gentler easterly thermals, with steady afternoon easterlies and stronger, colder nor'westers.

Camping trips run in February and March. On sunny summer days an easterly thermal builds in the afternoon and lasts until sunset; the strong northwest wind funnelled off the mountains is the other pattern, and it is the colder one.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

riding season from the spot record · no wind series here is trusted enough to name a season

Jan2
Feb, riders' month0
Mar, riders' month0
Apr2
May0
Jun2
Jul0
Aug0
Sep3
Oct5
Nov3
Dec3

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Feb, Mar.

Our wind model misses this spot's wind

The model puts wind on only 5% of days, even in its best month, which does not match the season and the wind strength riders and schools report here. That is why the bars are hatched instead of coloured: go by the ringed months, the ones riders name.

Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal.

Every figure, month by monthWindy days · Force 4+ · 12 kn or more · Knots · Wind from · Peaks at · Air · Readings

Month	Windy days	Force 4+	12 kn or more	Knots	Wind from	Peaks at	Air	Readings
Jan	2%	11%	10%	7.9 kt	SE	14:00	14.8 °C	62
Feb	0%	11%	9%	7.6 kt	SE	15:00	13.5 °C	57
Mar	0%	8%	0%	7.3 kt	NW	14:00	11.7 °C	62
Apr	2%	2%	2%	6.3 kt	NW	15:00	9.8 °C	60
May	0%	2%	2%	5.5 kt	NW	14:00	7.1 °C	62
Jun	2%	2%	2%	4.6 kt	NNW	11:00	4.1 °C	60
Jul	0%	0%	0%	5.2 kt	NW	14:00	2.4 °C	62
Aug	0%	3%	3%	5.7 kt	NW	12:00	3.3 °C	62
Sep	3%	25%	15%	8.3 kt	NW	14:00	5.8 °C	60
Oct	5%	15%	8%	7.8 kt	NW	14:00	7.8 °C	62
Nov	3%	13%	8%	8 kt	NW	14:00	10.6 °C	60
Dec	3%	11%	8%	8.3 kt	NW	14:00	13.2 °C	62

About these figuresriders' months · 2023-2024

Riders and schools name these months. The model reads lower here, and both are shown rather than averaged.

A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024

The water

Type

flat/chop freshwater lake

Standing depth

Shallow for its size and 19 m at the deepest point, but nobody has published how far out you can stand off the hut end. Treat it as deep water: no motorised craft is allowed on the lake, so nothing can come out to you.

Tides

none

Conditions

High-country freshwater lake at about 667 m, around 197 ha and up to 19 m deep, shallow for its size. It warms up fast in summer and can freeze over in a severe winter.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for advanceds here

Kiters and windsurfers both use the lake. Advanced beginners and above is the level quoted for wing and windsurf trips here. Nothing kite-specific is on record, and no school runs beginner rescue on this water.

The scene

What riders come here for

flat waterfreshwater freeridewindsurfingwingfoilingremote camping

Who it suitsbeginners

A remote high-country lake with a hut settlement and a basic campground. Wind sports share it with fishing, walking and mountain biking.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

1 school names this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch is not rated

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

No neighbour on record

No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.

Rescue

No powered rescue craft are normally allowed on Lake Clearwater because motorised craft are prohibited; emergency exemptions may apply under district planning rules.

Launch

Access is from the Lake Clearwater hut settlement/campground area near the southern end of the lake and boat-ramp area, reached via Hakatere Potts Road.

Rules & access

1 min read

As of 2026, no motorised craft are allowed on Lake Clearwater, and no dogs at all at the hut and campground areas or along the shores, with a $300 fine for a dog breach (2026).

The lake is a Government Purpose Reserve under the Reserves Act 1977 and a wildlife refuge under the Wildlife Act 1953.

District planning material from 2019 treats non-motorised wind-powered craft as allowed on Lakes Camp and Clearwater, with emergency search-and-rescue exemptions for craft that are otherwise prohibited.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Stay within self-rescue distance of a shore you can walk back from, because no powered rescue craft are allowed on the lake.
Check the high-country forecast before you commit to the drive; the weather turns fast up here and hypothermia is the real risk.
Keep off the signed wildlife and nesting ground when you rig.
Bring your own drinking water, or boil what the campground supplies.
Leave the dog at home: dogs are banned at the hut and campground areas and along the shores, $300 fine (2026).
The easterly is the flat, friendly one and it is also the direction blowing off the hut bank, so everything you lose goes downwind into open lake.
Size down hard for a nor'wester; windsurfers rig 4.0-5.0 m sails for it.

Getting there

Airport

Christchurch Airport (CHC)

Route

Drive west/inland from Christchurch via Rakaia or Ashburton/Mount Somers toward Hakatere Potts Road; road access is about 38 km past Mount Somers and the last half is unsealed gravel.

Transfer

120 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Basic campground near the southern end of the lake, with a small holiday-home settlement alongside it. There are toilets and a water supply, but the water has to be boiled before you drink it.

No-wind days

Lake Clearwater Circuit, Mount Guy, Mystery Lake tracks, mountain biking, hiking, birdwatching, fishing, swimming and exploring Hakatere Conservation Park.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite Lake Clearwater?

February and March are best, when strong northwest wind funnels off the surrounding mountains and afternoon easterly thermals typically build around 2-3pm on sunny days.

Is Lake Clearwater suitable for beginners?

Tour operators describe it as suitable for advanced beginners and above on wind and wing trips, though no dedicated kite-school rescue setup has been verified.

What is the wind like at Lake Clearwater?

Two patterns dominate: a strong, cold northwest wind funnelled by the mountains, and a gentler easterly thermal that usually builds in early afternoon and lasts until sunset.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

As of 2026, no motorised craft are allowed on the lake because it is a Government Purpose Reserve and wildlife refuge, and dogs are banned from the hut and campground shores with a $300 fine.

What are the hazards at Lake Clearwater?

The lake is remote with partly unsealed road access, no powered rescue craft due to the motor ban, changeable mountain weather, and wildlife nesting areas riders should avoid.

Last updated: August 2026