I grew up near lakes. We had a holiday house in the South Island of New Zealand and my childhood memories are of gasping at the coldness of Lake Wakatipu.

Summer holiday activities revolved around the lake. We would take a picnic and a canoe and spend hours pottering in the water. Or we would go fishing. Friends had a speed boat and that’s how I learnt to water ski. I feel grateful and privileged that I was able to have so much water in my life.

Lakes still capture me more than any other body of water.

I love the stillness they evoke in me. I immediately become calm when I see the serene still water and – strangely – I love the thrilling menace of an unknown depth.