And in Wanaka, visitors and locals alike breathed a sigh of relief as their lake stopped rising, ending fears of flooding in low-lying businesses.
In Queenstown, people poured out on to the sunny streets yesterday afternoon in a mild 18degC.
MetService forecaster Sarah Sparks said 66mm of rain was recorded in Queenstown during Monday and Tuesday's downpour and the wind peaked at 60kmh.
Otago Regional Council figures showed that at 1pm yesterday, the level of Lake Wakatipu at Queenstown was exceeding the lake's first flood warning level by 47mm, at 310.847m above sea level (ASL).
Three hours later, the lake had dropped marginally to 310.826m.
In Wanaka, the back-country downpour was not enough to push the lake above the 279.4m first flood warning mark, but levels came close; the lake had risen nearly a metre since the rain started.
At 5pm yesterday, the level was 279.251m ASL.
At the Cardrona River confluence, the Clutha River was flowing at 685.749cumecs at 2pm and dropping but still well above the first flood warning point of 600cumecs.
