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Two strong local climbers in their mid-20s had to be rescued on Tuesday night (30 June) after becoming lost and abseiling down onto a vertical ice slope high on Mount Aspiring, sparking a long, tricky and technical helicopter rescue.

In total there were 14 one-star restaurants including: Inati in Christchurch, led by chef Simon Levy, Ben Bayly's Ahi, seafood led Ortega in Wellington, The Estate on Auckland's Waiheke Island, Rātā in Queenstown, Logan Brown in Wellington, Jano Bistro also in Wellington, lunch-only spot Tussock Hill in Christchurch, Kika in Wānaka, Auckland's Paris Butter, Mudbrick on Waiheke Island and Sherwood and Amisfield in Queenstown.

Future Hospitality Group’s Odd Saint and Little Blackwood have been crowned New Zealand’s Best Café and Best Bar at the 2026 LION Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence.

Police are working to identify a group of men after a driver was allegedly assaulted when forced to stop his car on Gorge Road at 3.50am on Sunday, 21 June. Constable Amanda Shute says three men had been stopped in the middle of the road causing the vehicle to slow down and stop.

Sixteen volunteer firefighters from Frankton, Queenstown and Arrowtown took part in what was a tricky rescue after a young woman in her 30s or 40s fell about 6m down a steep bank off a walking trail above the Kawarau River on Saturday night (13 June).

A new annual survey aimed at understanding how people across the Queenstown Lakes District and Aotearoa find, interpret and trust information has been launched by Wānaka-based consultancy Scope Communications.

Police have arrested eight people and seized cash and drugs following search warrants in the Queenstown area.

Quick thinking by an onsite manager saved Arrowtown restaurant Slow Cuts and neighbouring businesses in the Royal Oak building from being burnt to the ground last Thursday, 4 June as did prompt action by local firefighters, FENZ Otago Lakes Group assistant commander Nic McQuillan says.

Local firefighters pulled off some impressive feats at the Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge recently, with Frankton volunteers becoming the first local team to win a grand trophy for their fundraising, placing third in their 6 to 9-member category nationally.

Queenstown ski resort The Remarkables will become New Zealand’s largest, with a proposed $150 million-plus expansion into the Doolans Basin. The highly-anticipated project, which has been years in the making, will see the ski resort increase significantly in size to 711 hectares from its current 449 hectares, and will feature NZ’s longest gondola (2.7km long).

Burglars who targeted 11th Avenue in Frankton, hit twice in the past week, were “pretty determined”, those caught on security camera even bringing empty plastic milk containers to fill from the beer taps, co-owner Gino Mendoza says.

The return of a new Queenstown Winter Festival-inspired event – Snow Fest – has officially heralded the start to winter, with event organisers toasting its success. Snow Fest concluded on Saturday after a two-day programme of sold-out community events that gave a nod to the much-loved former Winter Festival, which ran annually from 1975-2023.

A couple of alleged, teenage poachers – one from Lake Hayes and one from Cromwell, were spoken to by Police who executed search warrants early yesterday after two prize breeding stags, worth between $US30,000 and $US50,000, were shot and killed on a Bendigo farm.

The 2026 NZ Bird Conference and Birds New Zealand AGM will be held in Wānaka on King’s Birthday weekend at the Lake Wānaka Centre. About 200 ornithologists and bird enthusiasts are registered to attend Aotearoa New Zealand's largest annual conference on birds and bird research, which has been held in a different location every year since 2005 (except 2020).

Police say it’s extremely fortunate that they weren’t dealing with a fatality in a three-car vehicle collision late yesterday afternoon (20 May) at Arrow Junction, where there have been a number of accidents recently.

Battle lines are being drawn over the country's energy future, with Labour promising to pull the plug on a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal if it wins the next election. MPs and leaders from six parties clashed over fossil fuels, blackouts, power prices and whether the country's biggest electricity companies should be broken up at an energy debate in Queenstown on Monday afternoon.

People head into council offices for many reasons: to register a dog, attend a meeting, report an issue, or get advice in person. But which location best suits the future needs of our community, and why?

The two victims of an alleged grievous assault at a Hallenstein Street address just after 11pm on 8 May – one who was in a critical condition and one serious, have both been discharged from hospital, one facing further surgery, Police say.

Weeks before ski field lifts usually start spinning, Queenstown's Coronet Peak has flipped the switch on a $2 million "snow factory" to lay down the first coat in Autumn. Crews have started producing snow from a high-tech fridge-like machine housed in shipping containers that can operate in temperatures of up to 20 degrees.

The fast-track referral of a sprawling gondola and housing proposal - despite council warnings about missing details and limited benefit - is being described by a Queenstown councillor as a real disappointment.