We expected a picturesque lakeside walk in what we were led to believe would be a quiet, off the beaten spot, a 15-minute drive from Queenstown. Water framed by hillsides clad with waving bronze tussocks, higher mountains rising in the distance, and some pretty boardwalk sections across wetlands.

Instead, the narrow, windy gravel road leading to the lake resembled a highway. Not the road itself obviously, but the number of cars engaging in the most reckless passing manoeuvres on a road with steep drop-offs that is clearly not made for passing. It was only when we arrived at the campsite on the lakeshore to a party in full swing that we realized we had timed our visit badly to coincide with the day of the Shotover Moonlight Mountain Marathon that finishes at Moke Lake.

I suggest you pick a different day for your visit; because Moke Lake and the 6.5km well-maintained loop track swooping around it with magnificent views towards Mt Aspiring National Park are definitely worth a visit, just not when you share its lakeshore with a few hundred others.

Starting at the campsite and heading in an anti-clockwise direction across a small wooden bridge, the trail closely skirts the lake’s edge on a short, gentle uphill section with some magnificent views over the lake from an elevated position. The track then descends towards the southern end of the lake and two boardwalk sections, before and after the trail meanders out onto a small peninsula, which allows you to cross two small wetland areas without getting your feet wet.

As you return along the eastern lakeshore, there’s a short on-road section before the trail sidles closer to the lakeside again and returns to the starting point, completing the loop.

At the time, the campsite was fully booked, because of the race I imagine, but on a different day, this would be a lovely spot to stay and swim in the lake.