[1] Much of the area was surveyed by Herbert Guthrie-Smith, who farmed 60,000 acres (240 km²) surrounding the lake.

[4] A small settlement, Tutira, is located near the lake, on State Highway 2 30 kilometres north of Whirinaki.

The Tutira Walkway, ascends to the Table Mountain trig station for views over Hawke's Bay and takes about five hours to complete.

[7] In 2023, the lake was in a poor condition and not safe for swimming as a result of algal blooms caused by high temperatures, runoff from farms, and nutrient-rich inflows during heavy rains.

[9] It has a small catchment area, whose dominant erosion mechanism is landsliding; as a result of this, infrequent, large storms account for the bulk of the sedimentary depositional volume; Cyclone Bola is a particularly important recent example.