Aucklanders excited about a few snowflakes this week should spare a thought for Adrian Hood, of Dansey Pass, who is surrounded by a metre-deep blanket of snow.
"I'm getting pretty used to it now," Mr Hood said yesterday, after the road was cleared sufficiently for him to get out for the first time in three days.
Mr Hood, the manager of the Danseys Pass Coach Inn, shifted to Maniototo from Auckland three years ago.
His main concern about the weather yesterday concerned a wedding, booked for the inn this weekend.
"That's my only concern: whether things will clear enough to get supplies in and so people can get here."
Three groups of visitors had been stranded at the inn because of the snow. It was snowing again yesterday afternoon.
Maniototo was still covered in snow yesterday, although residents hoped a thaw had begun.
Schools in the district were closed for the third successive day and police warned about driving conditions.
Snow had been cleared from many roads, but some were restricted to one lane, with waist-high snowdrifts on the sides.
Stonehenge Station, near Patearoa, had about 30cm of snow yesterday and Sue Hore said it was unusual for it to be so deep and lie so long.
"My husband Jim is 62 and he tells me he can't remember snow like this."
They were snow-raking with a digger to get cattle out of a block heavily covered in snow, she said.
Queenstown returned to some level of normality yesterday, and all incoming and outgoing flights at the airport operated.
Shops reopened after two days of closure for many, due to staff not being able to get to work, and the town got some much-needed sunshine, helping melt some of the ice and snow on the roads.
Police are still urging drivers to be cautious in shaded areas, with the probability of black ice, which is expected to last for the next few days.
Sun is forecast for the region through to the weekend.
State Highway 87 between Outram and Middlemarch was the only southern highway closed last night, according to the New Zealand Transport Agency, but it urged caution for motorists using SH85 between Ranfurly and Omakau, because of ice, SH6 from Cromwell to Queenstown, because of snow, and that chains be carried on the Lindis Pass.
Snow meant SH80, from Pukaki to Mt Cook, was closed to towing vehicles, and chains were essential for other motorists using that road.
Farmers having to dispose of milk because of limited collection are being reminded it must be disposed of responsibly.
Primarily, that involved not putting it into waterways or on to saturated soils, the council's group manager regional services, Jeff Donaldson said in a statement yesterday.
Fonterra recommended the milk be used to feed calves or put in the farm effluent system. Farmers should contact the co-operative for advice on alternative disposal options.
A Fonterra spokeswoman said tankers were back on the road yesterday, with only minor disruptions.
