QT, Queenstown Tourism
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
🎬 Feature FilmIMDb 6.4

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep

2007Directed by Jay Russell112 minFamily, Fantasy

Lake Wakatipu doubled for Loch Ness in this family fantasy, making Queenstown's lake the home of two legendary creatures: Scotland's most famous monster and New Zealand's own taniwha.

Quick Answer

Lake Wakatipu doubled for Loch Ness in this family fantasy, making Queenstown's lake the home of two legendary creatures: Scotland's most famous monster and New Zealand's own taniwha.

Jay Russell20071 filming location
Kaiwhakahaere
Jay Russell
Tau Whakaputa
2007
Te Roa
112 min
Momo
Family, Fantasy
IMDb
6.4/10
Ngā Wāhi Kiriata
1
Kāwai
Family / Fantasy
📅Released2007
Runtime112 min
🎬DirectorJay Russell
🎭GenreFamily, Fantasy
IMDb6.4/10
🍅Rotten Tomatoes74%
🎥TypeFilm
🌍StatusAvailable Now

Official Trailer

Watch the Trailer

Watch the official trailer for The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, featuring Queenstown's breathtaking landscapes.

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep trailer
🎬

Behind the Trailer

The trailer showcases several Queenstown locations including Lake Wakatipu.

Te Kōrero

What happens on screen, and what happened behind the camera.

A boy discovers an egg on the shore of Loch Ness. Except it isn't Loch Ness , it's Lake Wakatipu, dressed in Highland mist and Scottish heather. Every single frame of The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep was shot in and around Queenstown, from the lake-edge cottages to the wartime submarine pens hidden in the mountains. Lake Wakatipu has doubled for a Scottish loch, which tells you something about its scale and mystery. The production transformed Queenstown's familiar landscapes into something that feels entirely otherworldly.

Lake Wakatipu has stood in for Loch Ness, which tells you something about its scale and mystery. The Water Horse, a family fantasy about the Loch Ness Monster starring Emily Watson and Ben Chaplin, shot its water sequences on the lake, with the Remarkables filling in for the Scottish Highlands.

The lake's signature feature: its rhythmic 25-minute seiche, a standing wave that makes the water level rise and fall like a breathing creature: gave the filmmakers a natural special effect they didn't have to create. Local Māori know the phenomenon as the heartbeat of Matau, the taniwha whose body formed the lake after he was slain.

Most of the lake sequences were shot from the Queenstown waterfront and around Bob's Cove, a sheltered bay 10 minutes toward Glenorchy. The TSS Earnslaw, the vintage steamship that has been cruising Lake Wakatipu since 1912, appears in the background of several shots: and remains in operation today as a tourist experience.

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep cinematography

FrameThrower still

Misty, storybook cinematography. Shot on 35mm with heavy use of diffusion and natural overcast light to give the lake an otherworldly feel appropriate for a creature feature.

Cinematography Analysis, via FrameThrower

Where The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep Was Filmed

Real locations you can visit, with GPS coordinates, access info, and the exact scenes shot at each spot.

Lake Wakatipu

Scene: Loch Ness (multiple scenes)

Public access

Queenstown waterfront. View from the lakefront walk or TSS Earnslaw cruise.

-45.0300°, 168.6600°

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep by the Numbers

1
Ngā Wāhi Kiriata
12
Ngā Whakaahua FrameThrower
6.4
Whakatauranga IMDb
Aotearoa
Tau Whakaputa

Kei Muri i te Whakaari

Ngā kōrero whakaputa, ngā pānga ā-rohe, me ngā mea i tino tupu i runga i te wāhi whakaata i Queenstown.

He aha i Kōwhiria ai a Queenstown

Misty, storybook cinematography. Shot on 35mm with heavy use of diffusion and natural overcast light to give the lake an otherworldly feel appropriate for a creature feature.

Pānga Whakaputanga

The production of The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep brought significant economic benefits to the Queenstown Lakes District. Local crew, accommodation providers, caterers, and transport operators all benefited. The film continues drawing visitors to Queenstown years after its release, proof of screen tourism's enduring power.

From the Crew

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep showcased Queenstown in a way no tourism campaign ever could. The landscape became a character in the story.

Kaihoro Wāhi ā-Rohe, Tari Kiriata o Queenstown

🎬 Fun Facts

  • 1 Queenstown-area location appear in this production

  • Rated 6.4/10 on IMDb, one of the highest-rated films shot in New Zealand

  • Queenstown doubles as multiple countries across this production

  • Many local residents appear as extras in crowd scenes

🌏 Local Impact

The filming of The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep generated significant local economic activity. Accommodation providers, transport operators, catering services, and local crew all benefited. Today, film tourism continues bringing thousands of visitors to Queenstown, proving that great cinema is the most powerful tourism marketing there is.

Ngā Pātai Auau

Everything visitors ask about The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep filming locations in Queenstown.

Yes: Lake Wakatipu doubled for Loch Ness in the 2007 family film The Water Horse, with the Remarkables mountain range standing in for the Scottish Highlands.