Озеро Вакатипу: жемчужина Южного острова Новой Зеландии

Lake in the South Island of New Zealand

Lake Wakatipu is an inland lake (finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. Lake Wakatipu comes from the original Māori name Whakatipu wai māori. With a length of , it is New Zealand's longest lake, and, at , its third largest. The lake is also very deep, its floor being below sea level (−110 metres), with a maximum depth of It is at an altitude of , towards the southern end of the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana. The general topography is a reversed "N" shape or "dog leg". The Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu flows into the northern end, the lake then runs south for 30 kilometres before turning abruptly to the east. Twenty kilometres (12.4 mi) further along, it turns sharply to the south, reaching its southern end further south, near Kingston. At the north end of the lake is the settlement of Glenorchy, in the north east corner, and the smaller isolated locality of Kinloch in the north west corner. The lake is drained by the Kawarau River, which flows out from the lake's only arm, the Frankton Arm, east of Queenstown. Until about 18,000 years ago the Mataura River drained Lake Wakatipu. The Kingston Flyer follows part of the former river bed now blocked by glacial moraine. Queenstown is on the northern shore of the lake close to the eastern end of its middle section. It has a seiche period of 26.7 minutes which, in Queenstown Bay, causes the water level to rise and fall some
Lake Wakatipu is known for its scenery and is surrounded by mountains. Two mountain ranges, the Remarkables and the Tapuae o Uenuku / Hector Mountains, lie along its southeastern edge. It is a common venue for adventure tourism, with skifields, paragliding, bungy jumping and tramping tracks within easy reach. A vintage steamboat, the TSS Earnslaw regularly plies its waters. Several vineyards are nearby in Gibbston.

The full original name of the lake is Whakatipu wai Māori. While the lake lacks an official name, it is generally referred to as "Lake Wakatipu". Wakatipua or Whakatipua (Canoe/Bay of spirits) have been recorded historically, as has Wakatapu (sacred vessel). A legend says that the lake bed was formed when a giant ogre, Kopu wai, was burned while lying asleep, leaving only his heart behind, which according to the same legend is the cause of the rhythmic rise and fall of the lake's seiche. A variation on that is that Wakatipu is a contraction of Waka (trough) and tipua (enchanted giant), the giant was burnt when the surrounding bush was lit and his breathing causes the seiche. Another possibility, if the name was Whakatipu (make grow), is that a defeated group regrew their strength here. Whakatipu is also the name of another six unrelated geographical features in the South Island, including Tarahaka Whakatipu, the Harris Saddle at the head of the Routeburn Track; Te Awa Whakatipu, the main Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu flowing into the lake; Whakatipu Katuka, the Hollyford River and Valley; and Whakatipu Kohurangi, Māori Bay in Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere, Marlborough.

Lake Wakatipu has experienced periodic flooding affecting the lakeside communities of Kingston, Glenorchy and Queenstown. Notable flooding events include the 1878 Queenstown floods, which affected a large part of the outlying Queenstown and Otago areas, the 1995 Queenstown floods, and most notably the 1999 Queenstown floods, which significantly damaged the Queenstown CBD and road infrastructure resulting in approximately $50 million worth of damage.

Lake Wakatipu is a habitat for the longfin eel (a specimen caught in 1886 is the largest known of this species), and for introduced brown trout, salmon and rainbow trout. These and other fish support predators such as the pied shag. The black billed gull is often found around the lake while the most common birds are the black billed gull and the introduced mallard. A smaller bird often not noticed because of its size is the New Zealand scaup.

Lake Wakatipu doubled as the Scottish Loch Ness in the 2007 film The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep. The lake was a backdrop for several scenes in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, including Amon Hen.

Lake Wakatipu is the eponymous lake in the murder mystery television series Top of the Lake (2013).

The first person to swim the length of the lake was Ben Campbell Macdonald in 2012. The 81 km solo wetsuit swim from Kingston on the lake's southern point to Glenorchy took 18.5 hours.