Aardwolfs Natural Ice Reports
2.08am 8th August 2016

DISCLAIMER:

These reports are based on: phone calls, emails, trips to the ice, lakes and ponds.

Please NOTE that YOU SKATE AT YOUR OWN RISK and these reports only give you an idea of what to expect when you arrive. Conditions can change very quickly in the mountains and though we make every effort to keep these reports current in season, please be careful when skating.

Remember: ICE SKATING on NATURAL ICE can be dangerous.
Make the effort to go you wont regret it!!!!!!!
We RECOMMEND always having a means of retrieving people who may fall through the ice.

Having a tow rope on hand works well for this. More Safety Tips

PLEASE HELP US TELL YOU WHAT IT'S LIKE ON THE ICE

If you have been to the Ice Recently, Please send me a report:
Ph: 03 3238293, Mob for Txt :0274504399 or Email clive.m48@gmail.com ,
This allows everyone to benefit from your experience and may encourage new people to enjoy Ice Skating.
Remember to hit the REFRESH button for the latest version of this page.

Clive's Ice Skating List
Want to be added to Clive's Ice Skating list. Email me with "Opt In" in the title line. when we get a few days notice of good conditions I email  telling you when and where we are going.

 Weather information
Recent Rain Radar
High Country Met Service Forecast
Met Service 7day Mt-Olympus
 Arthur's Pass Weather
 Castle Hill Weather
Methvan Weather (from www.findu.com)
Haketere Weather by Weather Underground
Snow Forecast High Country
SouthwestPacific 180hr Forecast
SouthWestPacific Marine Weather
Alexandra Accuweather.com
Met Service 10 day Forecast for Alexandra

Videos of Natural
Ice Skating: YouTube
 Aardwolfs: here
Joe's: here
Glens: here

Natural Ice Reports
from Southern NZ:
 chipofftheiceblock

NZ Map of
Ice Skating Locations
Access Information Photos and Videos

South Island
Mt Lyford:
Lake Stella, Photos
Mt Lyford Holiday Homes Rink Photos
Arthur's Pass:
Lake Lyndon, Photos
 Red Lake East and Red Lake West, Photos
Glenthorne Station:
 Lake Ida, Photos
Lake Self, Photos
Lake Evelyn, Photos
Lake Clearwater:
 Lake Camp and Clearwater, Photos
Lake Ohau:
 Lake Middleton, Photos
Lake Pukaki:
 Pukaki Overflow Spillway, Photos
Pukaki:
 Holbrook Pond, Photos
Tekapo:
 Paterson's Ponds, Photos
Naseby:
 Coal Pit Dam, Photos
Horseshoe Lake, Photos
Hoffman's Dam, Photos
St Bathans
The Blue Lake, Photos
Wanaka:
 Diamond Lake, Photos
Oturehua:
 Idaburn Dam, Photos
Poolburn Dam Photos
Mathias Dam Photos
Eweburn Dam Photos
Alexandra:
Lower Manorburn Dam, Photos
Butchers Dam, Photos
Mount Cook:
Godley Glacier Lake, Photos
Tasman Glacier, Photos
Hooker Lake, Photos
Current Ice Rinks Outside
Stavely:
Staveley (Natural Ice), Photos
Fairlie:
 Fairile Ice Rink (Natural Ice), Photos
Mt Cheeseman:
Mt Cheeseman (Natural Ice), Photos
Tekapo:
Lake Tekapo Photos
 Naseby:
 Maniototo Ice Rink
Alexandra:
Alexandra Ice Rink Photos
Cardrona
Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds

Current Ice Rinks Inside
Christchurch:
Alpine Ice Sports Centre
Dunedin:
Dunedin Ice Stadium
Gore:
Gore Ice Skating Rink
Queenstown:
Queenstown Ice Rink

Old Ice Rinks No Longer In Use
 If you have any old photos, movies or information on Ice skating in NZ we would really appreciate your assistance in building this historical resource. Please contact us.

Christchurch
Centaurus Ice Rink
Alpine Ice Rink (Papanui)
Hororata
Hororata Domain Rink
Timaru
Timaru Ice Rink
Dunedin
The Big Chill
 Albury
Opawa Homestead
Arrowtown
Arrowtown Ice Rink
Queenstown
Bush Creek
Rum Gully
Downey's Dam
Queenstown Hill
Early Queenstown Rinks
Garston Ice Rink
Alexandra
Early Alexandra Rinks
Mt Harper
Mt Harper Ice Rink
Tekapo
Early Tekapo Rinks
Central Otago
Irishman's Creek
Synthetic Ice Outside
Wanaka
 Invercargill
Glace Ice Rink
North Island
Auckland:
Paradice Ice Skating Rinks Botany Downs and Avondale

NI Ice Rinks No Longer In Use
Hamilton
Hamilton Ice Rink
Wellington
Ice Palace
See older Photos on the Photos Pages for the individual locations for Ice Skating.
 
Natural Ice Reports for 2016
Skate Hire: Clive 033238293: 0274504399 SGI Ice Skate Services
Looking for a ride Skating or have a spare seat. Check out: this Facebook page.
Tuesday 12th July 8.28pm: Poolburn Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
Black Ice  especially at the edge of the old ice had a great skate down to the far bay. Maybe the last good ice before the weather turns.
Full report and photos at chipofftheiceblock
Tuesday 12th July 8.28pm: Idaburn Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
Good Ice but melting in the warm wind.
Full report and photos at chipofftheiceblock
Tuesday 12th July 8.28pm: Coalpit Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
Clear Ice across the whole Dam, Great skating at times so clear it seemed like skating on an aquarium.
Full report and photos at chipofftheiceblock
Monday 11th July 11.59pm: Mt Cheeseman Ice Rink
From Clive Murphie.
Great skate this morning and again late this evening on the Mt Cheeseman ice rink, about 100mm of good strong ice with a light dusting of snow on it.

Mt Cheeseman Rink, before we skated, Photo by Clive Murphie.
Monday 11th July 11.59pm: Lake Lyndon
 From Clive Murphie.
A lot of the Lake has Ice on it, however not enough to skate on at 5pm tonight, a big frost tonight may make it marginal tomorrow.

Lake Lyndon with thinning ice. Photo by Clive Murphie
Monday 11th July 11.59pm: Red Lakes
 From Clive Murphie.
We had a skate at the Red Lakes East today on ice about the size of a table tennis table, the rest of the lake had about 20mm of ice and requires a big frost to be skatable.

Ron about to skate on a very small area. Photo by Clive Murphie
Monday 11th July 11.59pm: Lake Evelyn
 From Clive Murphie.
Once again most of the Lake had ice on it, however getting on was the problem, and the ice looked thin, 20mm approx. Another hard frost required.

Ice but not enough to skate, Photo by Clive Murphie
Monday 11th July 9.00pm: Poolburn Dam
 From Dave Patchett via the Facebook Page: Natural Ice Otago
-9 at Poolburn last night, Whole Lake is nearly skatable. Even a moderate frost tonight should hold some pretty good ice for tomorrow. It could be the last day for the season!! Check out the video at : Natural Ice Otago
Monday 11th July 8.12pm: Lower Manorburn Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
Lower Manorburn Dam Has good ice in the main and upper basin. skate with the frost. Photos at: chipofftheiceblock
Monday 11th July 8.12pm: Mt Cook
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
Mueller has some skatable ice behind the Island but would need a good check to see if it is still OK. Photos at: chipofftheiceblock
Monday 11th July 8.12pm: Blue Lakes
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
Have ice but only the top one is free from (thrown) stones. The top lake has fabulous ice. Photos at: chipofftheiceblock
Monday 11th July 11.15am: Lower Manorburn Dam
 From Lyndon, by email
70mm+ all over the middle basin of Lower Manorburn Dam

Skating at Manorburn today Photo by Lyndon
Sunday 10th July 7.20pm: Poolburn Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
Better Ice today but thin in places, so care is needed. With frost tonight it should be skatable in the main bay and the bays to the right. Skate early with the frost but check the ice first and watch out for thin ice.
Have a safety plan, access track bumpy but good.
Photos at: chipofftheiceblock
Saturday 9th July 6.27pm: Poolburn Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
Has some skatable ice if you look for it. Its variable with a lot of water showing. A risky skate. Access track is good.

Round the Rocks at Poolburn,      Photo by Dave Young
Saturday 9th July 6.27pm: Lower Manorburn Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
Skatable in Rush Cutters corner, maybe a bit further out if you skate with the frost. Take care and check the ice first.
Saturday 9th July 6.27pm: Idaburn Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
Up to 20mm. To thin to skate
Saturday 9th July 5.00pm: Coalpit Dam
 From the Facebook Page: Natural Ice Otago

Coalpit is dog proof.      Photo by Tony Miller
Sunday 3rd July 8.00pm: Lake Evelyn
 From Warren McKie, by email
I went past Lake Evelyn today: A pair of Black Swans and 3 cygnets were swimming where we should be skating, not a hint of ice anywhere.
Sunday 3rd July 4.33pm: Manorburn Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
Just a skim of ice in half of Rushcutters Bay.
Sunday 3rd July 4.33pm: Poolburn Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
20-30mm in some areas. Some open water.
Sunday 3rd July 4.33pm: Coalpit Dam, Idaburn Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
15mm on the sunny side. Idaburn 20mm in the main bay, Water elsewhere Warm!
Sunday 3rd July 9.20am Staveley Ice Rink,
From their Facebook Page
Still not enough Ice to Open. We lost all the previous ice in the last warm spell and this weeks frosts have provided about an inch over the rinks. 
Saturday 2nd July 10.11pm: Tasman Lake,
From Alan Knowles, by txt
Tasman Lake chocker with bergs and 50mm ice between them and open water, Didn't skate it!10pm, 9degrees, strong NW wind, not looking good for tomorrow.
Saturday 2nd July 10.11pm Lake Hooker
From Alan Knowles, by txt
Skated Lake Hooker from 9.00am-11.00am, until a warm wind softened the ice causing extensive ice breakup.
Sunday 26th June 8.57pm: Tasman Lake, Lake Hooker and Blue Lakes From Alan Knowles, by txt
A skim of new ice on Lake Tasman with a flotilla of bergs. Ice should form fast with moderate frosts. Lake Hooker has more ice.
None on the Blue Lake. Temp 4 deg all day 2deg at 5.00pm with no wind.
Sunday 19th June 8.15pm: Lake Alta (Remarkable Ski Field)
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
Alta: Good Pack of snow ice that had thawed and re frozen. The surface started going off when I got there but had a skate up and down one side of the lake. Would have been good all over at first light, but great to be on the skates again even if it was a bit bumpy at times.

Ice at Lake Alta today, re frozen snow ice   Photo by Dave Young
Thursday 9th June 8.25pm: Lake Evelyn
 From Fred van Slooten via email
Good day yesterday. Skated Evelyn with great ice in warm conditions. Skating on 1/4 of lake on sound ice.

Good ice at Lake Evelyn Wednesday Photo by Fred van Slooten
Thursday 9th June 8.25pm: Lake Ida
 From Fred van Slooten via email
Wednesday walked to Ida. Skated on main lake enclosure and rink. Ice good but water being driven onto ice on main lake. With warm temps it would be marginal today at best

Karl surrounded by water as the NW blows in.
Photo Fred van Slooten
Wednesday 8th June 10..45pm: Lower Manorburn Dam
From the Facebook Page: Natural Ice Otago

A group of locals enjoying the natural ice before the weather changes.   Photo by Inge Diks
Tuesday 7th June 6.25pm: Lake Evelyn
 From Michael Atkinson by Txt and Facebook
Good skate at Evelyn today, good ice that started getting creaky about 1.00pm in the sun. No problems getting on and off on the west end by the road but it was very noisy.

Some tracks on good Ice at Lake Evelyn.   Photo by Mike Atkinson
Tuesday 7th June 6.25pm: Red Lakes East
 From Michael Atkinson by Txt and Facebook
Skated the Red Lakes this afternoon, mostly good ice, a tad bumpy in some places, but really good in other areas,  there was very little sun so the ice stayed strong.

Red Lakes after our skate today.    Photo by Mike Atkinson
Monday 6th June 10..45pm: Lower Manorburn Dam
From a Facebook friend
A bit thin, but give it 2 weeks!!!! From a local........

Someone had a cautious skate at Manorburn today.
Photo by Mike Kindon
Monday 6th June 9.45pm: Mt Lyford Holiday Homes
 From Mike O'Connell via Facebook
Open today on request: Mt Lyford Holiday Homes have an outside ice skating rink available for use.
More information here
Monday 6th June 7.30pm: Lake Ida
 From Clive Murphie
Walked into Lake Ida today on the track from between Lake Evelyn and Lake Self, took about an hour with some snow cover, I wouldn't recommend it for small children or those not reasonably fit and agile.
Had a good skate on the Main Lake at Ida (ice on half of it), the skatable bit was not a big area but the ice was about 50mm and thawing, surface was a little rough but fast. The Hockey pond and some of the Enclosure were also skatable.

A reasonable amount of ice, just too thin to skate on.
Photo by Clive Murphie

Fun to be had on the bit you could skate on. Photo by Clive Murphie
Monday 6th June 7.30pm: Lake Evelyn
 From Clive Murphie
On the way to Ida we stopped and had a good skate on Lake Evelyn, got on by the road, only one wet foot. 40mm ice thickness over 1/3 of the west end of the lake, after about an hour of skating the ice was thawing and quite noisy. 

About 1/3 of the west end was skatable. Photo by Clive Murphie
Monday 6th June 7.06pm: Poolburn Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
Poolburn, some ice over (most of) the bay out to the main Island. Thin, needs much care and a few more frosts. Not recommended for skating yet.

Early dawn rest on the rocks at Poolburn, Photo by Dave Young
Sunday 5th June 3.14pm: Tasman Glacier Lake
From a Facebook friend
The Tasman Glacier Lake is partially frozen, you can walk on it  as it has a rough surface.

  Tasman Glacier Lake in bright sunshine. Photo by Kloe Palmer.
Sunday 5th June 3.14pm: Red Lakes East
 From Jeff Peacock by Phone
First Skate of the Season in Canterbury goes to Sebas Murchison, on Red Lakes East, some dodgy 30mm ice, became more vocal after several people were skating on it for a couple of hours.
Maximum care needs to be taken!!!!

Red Lakes East and some dodgy ice!!!! Photo by Georgia Ashleigh
Sunday 5th June 3.14pm: Lake Evelyn
 From Jeff Peacock by Phone
Just enough ice to stand on and skate in a 5 meter square patch, access onto the ice was difficult. 
Sunday 5th June 4.15pm: Idaburn Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
A little Ice in the main basin against the bank. Not enough to skate.
Sunday 5th June 4.15pm: Coalpit Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
Ice across the whole dam but too thin to skate. 10-15mm
Sunday 5th June 4.15pm: Poolburn Dam
 From Dave Young, from chipofftheiceblock
First Southern Skate of the Season goes to Dave P and Dave Y
Thin ice across much of the main bay. Water in some areas. Not skatable but you can find the odd patch if you hunt around (for the brave.....)

Dave P, small bay on Poolburn, Photo by Dave Young
Saturday 4th June 4.00pm and 11.11pm: Lake Lyndon
 From Fred van Slooten by Phone and email
Very little ice on Lyndon, small patches, not enough to skate on, Lyndon better suited for boating today. Photo of Ice Area is deceptive, its at the Lodge end, it's not that big and too thin to stand on.
Good frost tonight -4.3 at Cass 11.00pm tonight.

Small thin ice at the Lodge end of Lyndon. Photo: Fred van Slooten

Lyndon: better suited for boating today. Photo: Fred van Slooten
Saturday 4th June 1.17pm: Lake Lyndon
 From Michael Atkinson by txt
Not much ice on Lyndon, a little round edges, not enough to stand on.
Thursday 2nd June 4.00pm: Lake Lyndon
 From John Nelson by Facebook
Lake Lyndon today, a little bit of standing water on the east side, mostly frozen but don't know how thick:

Lake Lyndon looking a little frozen. Photo by John Nelson

Snow on the hills round Lake Lyndon. Photo by John Nelson
Thursday 2nd June 11.32am: Lake Lyndon
 From Carl McIlroy by Email
Lake Lyndon today from the road.

Lake Lyndon looking very low . Photo by Carl McIlroy
Thursday 2nd June 12.45am: This coming Weekend!!!!
 From Clive Murphie
So, to look into the future and see if there is any Ice Skating about to happen, one of the sites I use is: SouthWestPacific Marine Weather
The best weather for forming Natural Ice is a big high pressure over New Zealand for 3-4 consecutive days, high pressure means no wind, mostly clear skies and lots of big frosts, let the animation on the above website run and check out what's happening this coming weekend.
So check here frequently to get the latest Natural Ice news...:)
Wednesday 25th August 4.45pm: Lake Clearwater and Camp
 From John Nelson by email and Facebook
1st Report for the season, no ice or snow round Clearwater or Lake Camp yet!!

A stunning day today at Lake Clearwater. Photo by John Nelson

2016 Reports Starting Soon........we hope.......:)

Archives
 2015 (3) Tuesday 21st July-Thursday 13th August

 
Other Places to visit for Skating Videos and Photos
Aardwolfs You Tube site: here
Joe's You Tube site: here
Glens You Tube site: here
David Young's Blog: here
Ryan Hellyer's Homepages: here
Archives
2015 (3) Tuesday 21st July-Thursday 13th August
2015 (2) Monday 29th June-Monday 20th July
2015 Friday 29th May-Sunday 28th June
2014 Monday 26th May-Tuesday 9th September
2013 Monday 22nd April-Tuesday 16th July
 2012 (3) Wednesday 18th July to Tuesday 7th August 
2012 (2) Sunday 30th June to Tuesday 17th July
 2012 Sunday 28th April to Sunday 24th June
 2011 (2) Monday 1st August to Tuesday 23rd August
2011 Saturday 4th June to Sunday 31st July
2010(3)Wednesday 14th July to Wednesday 11th August
2010(2)Wednesday 8th July to Tuesday 13th July
2010Saturday 29th May to Wednesday 7th July
2009(3)Thursday 9th July to Saturday 15th August
 2009(2)Tuesday 30th June to Tuesday 8th July
2009 Sunday 6th June to Saturday 28th June
2008 Saturday 31st May to Sunday 27th July
See older Photos on the Photos Pages
 for the individual locations for Ice Skating.
Some of the events above may have no  association with the Aardwolfs Ice Hockey Club.
All graphics and written material (c) Aardwolfs Ice Hockey Club 2004