DISGRACE: Lake Tutira's toxicity is at its worst ever. PHOTO FILE
Circa 1987 my fourth-form class set up camp at Lake Tutira.
We were tasked with tramping up to a nearby trig station, then running back down. When we remonstrated with a teacher about our lack of water, he pointed to the lake and said: "There's plenty of water at the
finish line."
Hours later, severely dehydrated, we stormed into the lake like a herd of wildebeest. That is, not to swim, but to drink. Thirst forced us to risk whatever lurked therein.
These days you'd have to be much thirstier to brave that source. Such is the water's greenish hue, if you poured the contents into a tall glass garnished with a slice of orange, it'd pass as apple schnapps.
It's a crying shame. This is Hawke's Bay's equivalent of England's lauded Lake District. Come autumn, it's a Cumbrian postcard.
Monitoring levels show an unprecedented level of toxicity, where resident trout are dying in droves.
