Snow is falling thick and fast on the Crown range - a rude awakening for freedom campers parked near the summit overnight.
Council staff were out early keeping New Zealand's highest public road clear
"We've got grit trucks out on both sides of the Crown range on the Wanaka side and Queenstown side and they'll patrol these in the morning and early evening," said Queenstown Lakes District Council roading engineer Rick Gurnell.
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There is a serious side to this snow business.
Southern ski fields have been looking to the skies for weeks - and a day out from Cardrona's opening, Mother Nature has delivered.
"I think the biggest thing for us has been that temperature dropping dropping down to minus five last night and getting the snow guns going on and then a really good top up of 15 centimetres down here," said Bridget Legnavsky from Cardrona Ski Field.
In Canterbury, snow bunnies will have to wait another week for Mt Hutt to open - with between 20 centimetres and a metre set to fall over weekend they're confident they'll be ready to open on the seventh.
"Any amount of snow that falling out of the sky gets us very excited, we are watching the forecast very closely," said Mt Hutt ski area manager James McKenzie.
With colder temperatures and expected weekend snow falls, winter is arriving right on cue.
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