About 10cm of snow closed roads and stranded motorists in the Omarama-Twizel area yesterday.
But it didn't spoil a "perfect day" for holidaymakers Shirley and Kevin Merilees, who ignored the sub-zero temperatures to go fishing on the Wairepo arm below Lake Ruataniwha.
In the space of about an hour, they had a limit bag of four salmon between them, ranging from 1.5kg to 2.3kg.
Mr Merrilees was not sure what had made the fish bite, but he was not complaining.
Trucks and vehicles were lined up on State Highway 8 waiting for the Lindis Pass to open, which it did about 11.30am.
Accommodation providers and cafes at Omarama and Twizel were busy, coping with stranded motorists and truck drivers, caught out late on Tuesday night when snow started falling.
State Highway 8 was also closed between Tekapo and Fairlie, and from Twizel to Tekapo was only passable with chains after snow and slush froze hard.
The highway into Mt Cook was also closed.
The rest of the Waitaki Valley escaped unscathed.
Most of Central Otago escaped the worst of the storm, although 6cm-8cm of snow fell around Naseby, Oturehua, St Bathans and as far west as Becks.
The rest of the region saw wind and rain but little else.
No snow fell in Alexandra or Ranfurly, and what fell in Cromwell did not settle.
In Naseby, it started sleeting at about 4pm on Tuesday, but was not a problem.
