Photo by Mark Price
With heavy rain falling in the headwaters, Lakes Wanaka and Wakatipu have been rising this week, although they are still short of flood danger levels.
Otago Regional Council information showed Lake Wanaka at 278.644m above sea level at 6pm yesterday, still well short of the 281.3m flood recorded in November 1999.
Lake Wakatipu, at Queenstown, was at 310.625m yesterday.
In the November 1999 flood, the lake reached 312.8m and in the 2010 flood 311.48m.
Taiwanese tourists Sinya Chao (26) and Jason Lee (27) were waiting beside Lake Wanaka yesterday for the weather to clear.
Downstream, the Clutha River passed its first flood warning level at Balclutha yesterday. It was flowing at 1197.6cumecs.
