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Police are calling for help from the public to identify a man in his 30s of Asian complexion who may be of assistance in the extensive search for a 47-year-old Brazilian woman who’s been missing in the Skippers Saddle-Mount Dewar area for almost two weeks.

Police seek the public's help to identify a man seen on the summit track in the Mount Dewar area about 12.30pm on Friday afternoon 18 September.

A Queenstown firefighting legend has recently returned from the US where he had his work cut out for him helping manage and coordinate four different helicopter bases – two in Oregon and two in Washington, in the massive battles there against wildfires.

Police and LandSAR volunteers continue to scour the rugged hill country around Skippers Saddle and Mount Dewar for the second day today (24 September) in the hope of finding clues as to the whereabouts of a missing woman last seen at Skippers Saddle, near Coronet Peak, on Friday, 18 September.

Some volunteer firefighters are concerned that they can’t get through Queenstown’s notorious traffic congestion to respond to callouts, and while the local FENZ assistant district commander says it hasn’t affected response times yet, it potentially could.

While there was widespread alarm both on the ground and on board as significant flames leapt from the engine of a Qantas jet upon take-off from Queenstown last Saturday (5 September), Qantas assures its pilots had everything under control.

Ten people were taken to Lakes District Hospital by St John Ambulance crews, at least one with moderate injuries, after what is believed to have been a head-on collision between two vehicles near the summit on Crown Range Road at around 3.30pm yesterday (9 September).

At 76, Queenstown’s Queen of Waka Ama Francie Piacun has brought home a prestigious bronze crown, part of the 75-Plus age-group Kiwi team to win bronze at the World Waka Ama Sprints Championships in Singapore late last month.

Police are urging caution on the Frankton to Kingston highway through the Devil’s Staircase with latest NZTA statistics still showing concerning crash numbers along that route before what’s predicted to be a bumper tourist season even gets underway.

Police are extremely concerned to have netted two alleged drink drivers recording over 1000mcg, one over 1300mcg, when breath tested around Queenstown this past week, another two allegedly blowing over 800mcg in Central Otago.

Police have arrested two people and are appealing for witnesses following a serious assault in Queenstown around 1.10am near the Crew Room Bar entrance on Ballarat Street on last Tuesday, 25 August.

If anyone knows the dangers of the various conditions on Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes roads its newly appointed Otago Lakes Road Policing Manager Senior Sergeant Clint Wright.

Police have been out in force in the past few weeks operating 20 checkpoints across Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago and breath-testing 3,278 drivers.

There’s been a bit of shaking going on around the Southern Lakes of late and while it all seems to have settled down for now many are asking, ‘Are we prepared for the big one?’

Police say they have arrested “multiple youths” in relation to a serious recent spate of vehicle break ins and thefts around Frankton, Lake Hayes-Shotover Country and Kelvin Heights. Constable Amanda Shute says they have all been referred to be dealt with by the Police Youth Aid process.

While there’s less of a concern about whether recreational drug users are getting what they paid for around the Queenstown Lakes just now, Know Your Stuff general manager Casey Spearin says they’re more concerned about people mixing their drugs with alcohol.

Queenstown Olympian and World Cup alpine skiing star Alice Robinson will share her season’s highlights, which saw her finishing second in World Cup Super G and regularly on the podium, at a Queenstown Alpine Ski Team (QAST) celebration night and fundraiser on September 5 at Cargo Brew Hall at Arthur’s Point.

In what seems to be an ongoing problem Queenstown Police are again chasing the offenders of yet another spate of 11 vehicle break-ins and thefts across four Queenstown suburbs and they’re calling for the public’s help.

Experienced local rescuers are warning young climbers against “getting sucked in by summit fever’ amid calls from Police for extreme caution in the backcountry after two more major alpine rescues near Wānaka in a week.

Kiwi Park is inviting the community to come together on Sunday 16 August for A Day for Dylan, with all proceeds taken at Kiwi Park on the day being donated to support Queenstown local four-year-old Dylan and his family as they navigate his battle with relapsed Stage 4 neuroblastoma.