HLM -Chapter 780 Lakeside Track

Although Bartier was a financier whom New Zealanders called a cold-blooded man, when it came to Wang Bo, there was nothing to complain about.

He took the mining rights documents, personally went to find a gold exploration company, conducted another round of gold exploration, and then began managing large mortgage loans.

Wang Bo wasn’t familiar with this side of things, nor did he need to be. It didn’t concern him anymore; his task was to manage the town.

To attract investment and establish a public transport network, the town again launched large-scale investment and construction. Porter’s engineering team had fully entered Sunset Town, tasked with building a road and other infrastructure.

During the morning meeting, Bowen opened his PPT and introduced an idea: “Everyone, do you know about the Materson Lake Track? I think Sunset Town needs a track like this.”

The South Island is famous for its picturesque scenery, with many renowned scenic spots. One of these is Materson Lake, shown on the big screen.

This lake is located near Fox Glacier. When the wind is calm, the water surface is like a mirror, reflecting the majestic Cook and Tasman mountains. When the waves roll, it exudes a grand, imposing aura.

“You know, Materson Lake was formed about 14,000–15,000 years ago during the glacial period, located in a valley between Fox Glacier, Cook Mountain, and Tasman Mountain.”

“Our Lake Hawia is somewhat similar in formation period, and without a doubt, our lake is even larger and its waters clearer. Look, this is Lake Hawia.”

A slightly aerial photo of the lake appeared on the screen. Surrounding it was lush green grass, and at the center, a body of crystal-clear water looked like a green jelly, sparkling and transparent.

The resolution of the photo was so high that the lake’s northeastern surface showed a reflection of the mountains. Because the water was so clear, the reflection was sharp, making it hard to distinguish water from sky, light from shadow…

“Is this our Lake Hawia?” Even Wang Bo was astonished. “Like a dream, like mist, like dew, like lightning… Lake Hawia is actually this beautiful?”

From the model, it hadn’t looked this spectacular. No doubt it was beautiful, but this level of beauty was legendary.

Kidd asked hesitantly, “Isn’t this photoshopped? Really, it’s too beautiful.”

Bowen said, “A few days ago, people from National Geographic came to our town to take photos. This is one of the genuine photos they took of Lake Hawia. You know National Geographic, right? Their photos are 100% authentic.”

Wang Bo thought of the cannon-like camera the crew used. Professional equipment certainly lived up to its reputation.

“Go on.”

Bowen continued: “As you can see, Lake Hawia is even more beautiful than Materson Lake. So why not take Materson Lake as inspiration for our development? Materson Lake is surrounded by many nature reserves and forests, including white pine, red pine, and so on. But here, we have denser ferns and shrubs. In terms of scenery, we have the advantage; in terms of vegetation species, it’s on par.”

Hani understood and said, “So you suggest building a leisure track around Lake Hawia?”

Bowen nodded: “Exactly.”

Wang Bo had only been in New Zealand for a little over three years, so there were many things he didn’t know. He asked, “Does Materson Lake have a leisure track?”

“One lakeside track. It goes all the way around the lake. Many people like to run or cycle there. But Materson Lake is smaller, so the construction workload is less,” Hani said, shaking his head. “I’m not sure if it suits Lake Hawia.”

Bowen clicked through the slides: “Why wouldn’t it be suitable? Trust me, Materson Lake is only scenic. Its additional value isn’t much—like the freshwater fish species, which are just longtail eels or so.”

“But what about our Lake Hawia? We have many freshwater fish, freshwater crabs, freshwater shrimp, and it attracts many birds—ducks, cormorants, and even New Zealand’s only cranes!”

Wang Bo nodded: “Indeed. In terms of biodiversity, our Lake Hawia is outstanding. We even have wood pigeons. Who knows what other rare waterfowl we haven’t discovered yet?”

“Building a lakeside track can not only attract people to jog and exercise, tourists to circle the lake, but also anglers and photographers. Combined with the lakeside beach, it could form a completely new tourist spot,” Bowen added.

Hani said, “But we do have one drawback—we lack enough nearby attractions to pull tourists in. Materson Lake is on Highway 6, which runs along the West Coast of the South Island. It passes by many famous sights, including Queenstown, Lake Wanaka, Fox Glacier, Joseph Glacier…”

Bowen confidently said, “Yes, Highway 8 lacks enough major attractions, but we can make ourselves a world-class attraction. We ourselves can be the scenic spot!”

Everyone nodded. Hani spread his hands: “What else can I say? Yes, it’s a good suggestion. As long as the boss is willing to invest, I think it’s great.”

The group looked at Wang Bo. After a pause, he smiled: “So why are we hesitating? Bowen, prepare a feasibility plan for me. If it’s as you say, let’s start!”

“Yeah!” The deputy mayor pumped his fist in excitement. This was his first feasible proposal since arriving in Sunset Town, with a high chance of approval. How could he not be happy?

Wang Bo waved his hand: “Don’t celebrate too early. Brother, you’re responsible for this project, so you’d better work with Porter to research it. I hope everything goes smoothly.”

Looking at Bowen, he felt a sense of accomplishment.

Over three years ago, when Bowen first came to town, he was a goofy young cowboy. Now he had grown into a capable leader.

The feasibility plan was soon ready. The lakeside track for Lake Hawia looked promising, but there was one issue: as part of the twin lakes, making a full loop would be too long.

Wang Bo decided to start temporarily from the lakeside beach and loop around both sides, like a person stretching out arms to embrace Lake Hawia, without needing a complete circle.

Porter’s engineering team was ready to start immediately—another ten million NZD thrown into the project.