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Smashing ice-covered water troughs with sledgehammers is simply a morning routine during winter for Middlemarch farmers.
Yet for Dunedin, the cold conditions meant the city was treated to a live demonstration of what not to do when driving in the frost.
Yesterday was the third hoar frost of the year for Middlemarch farmer Jono Tod, and just one of countless frosty days.
When he woke up, he and three others grabbed their sledgehammers and got to work smashing the ice in the frozen water troughs so the ewes could have a drink.
The temperature was -7˚C in Middlemarch when Mr Tod woke up. By 9am, it had risen to a slightly less chilly -6˚C.
Unlike Middlemarch residents, those in Dunedin seemed to be a little off-kilter thanks to a second day of frost blanketing the ground.
Just before 8am, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) advised another crash near the Burnside overbridge on the Southern Motorway had closed the road to southbound traffic.
On Wednesday, a crash involving four vehicles occurred in the same area, in which a car was believed to have hit the median barrier and flipped on to its roof, trapping an occupant inside.
One person was transported to hospital with moderate injuries.
Acting Inspector Karl Hemmingsen said 100 cars would drive down the Southern Motorway with no problem, but it took just one person to not drive to the conditions to significantly delay a lot of people.
‘‘If it’s frosty and icy, take extra care and extra time.’’
Motorists turning off London St — which had the anti-icer CMA (calcium magnesium acetate) applied early yesterday — and on to an ungritted and untreated Scotland St were also giving bystanders a slow-motion pantomime.
According to the council website, Scotland St is not treated with grit or CMA in icy conditions as it is not a main arterial route.
Many drivers were videoed taking the corner too fast, realising too late there was no grip and slamming on the brakes, only to keep sliding downhill — in one case only stopping when they hit a parked car.
One driver was left stranded in the middle of the road unable to continue until a more experienced driver volunteered to take the wheel and negotiate a path down the slope.
All the crashes came after the Dunedin City Council warned drivers that widespread black ice on the city’s roads was making conditions ‘‘treacherous’’.
‘‘Please take care on the roads and footpaths. Our contractors are out checking and treating main roads as required,’’ the council said.
MetService meteorologist Paris Marshall said it should be slightly warmer in Dunedin today, before getting colder again at the weekend.
‘‘School holidays will start to feel cold to start them off, which is a bit unfortunate — unless you like cold weather.’’