"It's the busiest I've ever seen it in the 15 summers I've been in this job."
It was difficult to put a figure on the number of people on the lake over the Christmas and New Year break, he said.
The good weather was a contributing factor and boaties also appreciated the lack of congestion on Lake Dunstan.
"The beauty of this lake is the boaties and jet-skiers can spread out ...
"Another plus for Lake Dunstan is the fact that there's a beach pretty much right around it, so no matter where you go, there's a piece of beach to sit on."
"And if it's windy at one end of the lake, generally, it's calm at the other."
Weatherall Creek, Dairy Creek and Champagne Gully, close to Clyde, were among the most popular parts of the lake, along with the area from Deadman's Point bridge through to Pisa Moorings at the Cromwell end.
Even when it was raining, water sports enthusiasts were still out skiing and the discoloured and high water had been no deterrent, Mr Hitchcock said.
"The bulk of the boaties are from Otago-Southland and a lot from Canterbury and it's also been surprising how many Wanaka people are doing their boating on Lake Dunstan, saying this lake is less congested [than Lake Wanaka]."
The water temperature had remained around 18degC and he expected it to stay at that level, unless there was a cold snap.
Last year, the water temperature rose to 23degC at the end of January after a series of 30degC days.
The main problem he had encountered was with new boat owners being unaware of the lake rules.
"They need to make more of an effort to contact us or find out the rules."
Mr Hitchcock was still warning people to steer clear of the Kawarau arm of the lake, due to the fluctuation of water levels and the build-up of silt.
His warning followed a boat crash last week, when an Alexandra woman was knocked unconscious after the boat she was on ran aground on a sandbank near Bannockburn"Shallow water in that arm of the lake is still an issue and the lake going from high to low a couple of times recently accentuates the problem," he said.
