The company recorded the temperature of the water in the river at -6.1degC on Monday at 11.30am, and the decision was made to suspend operations because of concern ice would become stuck in the water intake, stopping propulsion and preventing the engine from cooling.
Meanwhile, Arrowtown experienced its coldest temperatures of the year to date yesterday, with a 14.6deg ground frost and an air temperature of -11.5degC.
Arrowtown weather recorder Richard Newman said it was the coldest morning for the village so far this winter, but was not the coldest morning on record.
In 2010, the Otago Daily Times reported the coldest ground temperatures in Arrowtown's history were recorded in the early 1990s, when the mercury dropped to below 16 degrees on the ground.
Mr Newman said those temperatures were also recorded in 2007, when there were two weeks of similar ground frosts.
The coldest day on record for Queenstown was in 1953, when the mercury dropped to -13.4degC on the ground.
