Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo

Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo tickets: which one to buy

The little stone church on the shore of Lake Tekapo is among the most photographed buildings in New Zealand, and the practical advice is mostly about how not to add to the problem. Entry is free but the interior is now roped off outside service times, with the door open so you can look in; photography inside has been restricted after years of visitors treating the altar as a backdrop.

Coach tours between Christchurch and Queenstown stop here for twenty minutes, which is the usual way people see it. Stargazing tours run from the village in the evening and are the better reason to stay the night, since the whole basin is an international dark sky reserve. Drivers should use the marked car park rather than the verge. The church is still an active parish and services are held on Sundays. Tour coaches stop in the marked bays, so the shoreline path stays clear for walkers.

Visiting Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo: what to see

The church was built in 1935 as a memorial to the pioneer farmers of the Mackenzie country, and the design instructions were unusual: the stone and the matai timber were to be used as found, with the boulders left rough and the surrounding tussock undisturbed, so that the building would look as though it had grown out of the moraine. It is very small, a single room with a porch and a bell.

Behind the altar, instead of a reredos or a stained window, there is a plain sheet of glass framing the lake and the Southern Alps beyond it, and that view is the whole architectural idea. The water is the extraordinary turquoise of glacial flour suspended in meltwater. A bronze of a working collie stands a short walk along the shore, raised by the local run holders in honour of the dogs. The bell in the porch was cast in England and is still rung by hand before Sunday services.

Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo opening hours and the best time to go

Sunrise is the time to come. The church faces roughly east across the lake, the coaches have not arrived, and the light on the water is what the photographs are made of; sunset works too but the crowd is larger. Between about ten and four in summer the site is busy and the car park full. November and December bring the lupins into flower along the lakeshore, which is spectacular and also an invasive weed the authorities are trying to control.

Winter is cold, clear and empty, with snow on the peaks and the best stargazing of the year. Night tours to the observatory on the hill above need booking well ahead. The village has cafes and a hot pool complex. Fifteen minutes at the church is enough, and the shoreline walk deserves an hour. Weddings are booked years ahead and the church closes to visitors while they are held.