A trio of Queenstown men keeping warm and cooking breakfast on a brazier on their barge prompted a quick response from Queenstown police and fire brigade early yesterday.
A member of the public called the police to report what looked like a boat on fire on the south side of the bay, near the Queenstown Gardens, about 7am.
Queenstown Lakes district harbourmaster Marty Black followed up the police and fire attendance yesterday. He said the men were asked to extinguish the fire, as fires are prohibited in the district, and they were happy to do so. No charges were laid.
Mr Black said the boat had been moored at Sunshine Bay for the past couple of months, but they had moored in Queenstown Bay overnight.
The men on their homemade barge, described as a "floating trailer", had all the required navigation lights and safety equipment.
Mr Black said no-one lived permanently on a boat on Lake Wakatipu.
• A skipper of the TSS Earnslaw called Mr Black after spotting a floating kite surfboard without a person using it on Lake Wakatipu yesterday, about 3.30pm.
Mr Black checked with a group of private kite surfboarders and discovered a learner in the group had lost a board. All members were accounted for.
