Poolburn white...

Frozen creek on way to the first skate

Big day on the ice today with lots of variety.  Woke up to a chilly morning and drove over to meet Dave and his crew at the bottom of the Poolburn track.

While waiting I went for a quick explore and a skate on a small dam nearby.  Great.

 Headed up to Poolburn with Dave, Nick and James.  As usual great to see the dam in all its winter glory - although the ice was covered in snow.  Amazing to find that it was quite easy to skate on with our hockey boots as the snow was light and fluffy.  Good hard ice underneath.  Had a good time exploring but were unable to go around the main island as pressure cracks had opened to clear water in some places.

Next stop the Lower Manorburn -  treated to a good skate on mostly smooth ice.  Good way to finish the skating day.

Small dam.... or dam small skate...

Dave Nick and James on Poolburn

d d d d d d d Dave in action 

Lower Manorburn - Dave Nick and James

Ice Report:  Poolburn - thick ice in main bay and most other areas.  Some open water.  Ice hard but snow covered - with some clear black ice patches.   New ice is thin compared to the main pack.  Track in good condition - but snow covered.

Lower Manorburn.  Good ice over most of the main basin. Hard ice -  mix of smooth and a little bumpy.   Over 100mm in Rushcutters out to 60-70mm on the other side.   Thin ice in neck and water in the gorge.  Skate with the frost.

Evening skate...

On the way to Central this afternoon I stopped by the Idaburn Dam and was surprised to find so much ice. The ice was quite thick especially on the hut side and well locked in.   Of course I couldn't let that go to waste.........  Had a nice skate into the evening on hard, slightly bumpy ice.  Good to be back on the ice after waiting a week and great way to end the day.    Staying in Omakau for the night (despite leaving my overnight  things at home.....agh..) and if the snow stays away will check out some skating tomorrow

Idaburn in the evening.

Selphy mode...and happy to be on the ice again....

Idaburn:  Good ice pack over the main area. Hard and locked in.  Water in the inlet and channel.  Good skating.

Wind Rain Warmth.....

It has been a disappointingly warm and windy week.  We are hoping some ice has survived from the weekend.  The ice has mostly disappeared on Idaburn.  The snow has gone from around Naseby as well.    I have heard there is a bit of ice still in Rushcutters on the Lower Manorburn

Hoping for a bit of frost this weekend.

Idaburn with a bit of ice left on the hut side - rest mostly water
Photo -  CY

Snow, rough ice but great day.

Headed off early this morning and met Dave P at Oterehua.  We were both surprised to see quite a bit of new snow on the way.

First stop after that was Idaburn.  The whole dam was locked in with ice but snow had effected the surface.  We had a bumpy skate up to the dam then came back and had fun on the smooth ice around the edge of the main skating area.
From there we drove - well I should say pushed through the snow - up to Poolburn.  Great to see the whole lake covered in thick ice but snow had made the surface quite rough.  Luckily the surface was hard so we skated around to the dam just enjoying the feel of the place.  Dave then completed a circuit around the main island while I walked over and met him on the other side.  Despite the rough surface is was great to be out on our favourite skating place.  We had an interesting ride out barging through the snow.
At the bottom we split up and while Dave headed to McKenzie country I went exploring and skated somewhere I have never skated before  Great ice - black ice with a bit if snow that had smoothed over.  Great to finish the day cutting some curves!

Dave cutting some curves 

Cold place to raise kids...

Looking over Poolburn after an interesting drive.....

The expanse of Poolburn

Finishing off with smooth ice...

Exploring new ice..

Ice Report:

Coalpit - locked in with snow ice. Bumpy surface - a thaw will smooth off.  Snow on track - may need chains for 2WD

Idaburn - plenty of ice up to the dam.  Snow effected and bumpy but smooth around the edge.  

Poolburn - Good thickness over most of the lake but rough surface.  A thaw or wind will change the ice quickly.  A lot of snow on the track.  Just ok with a 4WD.  Will need chains if any more snow.

Great way to start the day...

Got up early and went out to the Manorburn for an early morning skate.  Great ice - mostly black ice with some slightly bumpy areas.  I skated down the gorge to the entrance of the lower basin.  the ice was thinner here so turned and headed back across the middle basin and through the neck to the upper basin.  A good skate until I reached rough ice.  So nice to be on the ice at daybreak and watch the morning come alive while cruising the ice
Great way to start the day before heading back to work.
Met Llew on the way out from the dam - another keen natural ice skater!

Not sure what will happen to the ice over the next few days and warmer temps and wind are forecast...

Looking out of the gorge to the Dam

Fabulous skating again...

Main Basin

Ice Report
Lower Manorburn:  Very good ice all over the middle basin.  Lower basin ok near the pier.   Gorge is thin at the dam end (beware - avoid..).  Upper basin has good ice up until the rough ice.   Note:  Middle basin should last a bit but warmer temps and rain over the next few days will change things fast... so check carefully..

The best ice there is...

Clear black ice

Heading up to  Central Otago today I checked out a few of the local spots.  Everywhere looked fabulous in the sun and snow with plenty of ice around.
Every year I like to skate somewhere different and this year I choose a pond on the road to Middlemarch.   Had a good wee skate with a few rocks to skate around - but really if I had time I could have skated in a dozen places.
Next stop was Coalpit Dam.  The whole dam was frozen with hard but bumpy snow ice and I was able to skate anywhere - something you can not do every year.  Some the the ice was frost effected.

Then....... Idaburn Dam and what fabulous ice!  The dam had frozen hard and fast and was covered in about 80mm of hard smooth black ice - the best there is.  In the shallow areas you could see the bottom and in one place the cracked mud from the dry over summer.  I skated down the gorge to the dam and back and across the inlet then just cut some grooves.....  An absolute pleasure to skate and pretty hard to drag myself away....

Pond skate near Middlemarch

Coalpit

Go the Highlanders .... cold game!

Looking back up the Idaburn gorge

The best ice the is...

Ice Report

Coalpit Dam:  whole area locked in with around 60mm of a mixture of snow and black ice.  Hard but bumpy and will improve with a slight thaw.  Snow on track in but passable.

Idaburn:  Whole dam frozen in with up to 80mm of black ice.  Snow affected beside the dam and at the hut back the the rest is smooth and fast.

Quick morning skate.. (local too)

Pond skate - early and cold!

Managed to fit in an early morning skate after 2 days of frost.  Only had time to go local so headed to Mahinerangi.  Found ice in a couple ponds near the lake - just borderline for a skate but found thicker black ice in the enclosure.  The enclosure is a dangerous place to skate normally (need very careful testing) but was fine in a couple of small bays and I loved the new back ice.
Great way to start the day.

Ponds - frozen by the lake

Testing the ice in the enclosure

Black ice and fabulous... 

Ice report:  I don't really recommend Mahinarangi as the ice comes and goes quickly and is effected fast by the weather and day temperatures.  A chancy place to skate.

Manorburn:  I heard last night (Tuesday)  that Rushcutters is skate-able.  Should be even better after this mornings frost.