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Local charity, Sustainable Queenstown, has announced this month’s Green Drinks event. It’s all about Healthy Homes That Don’t Cost The Earth.

RRRRIP- not a sound you want to hear your jeans make when you’re setting up an event with no spare clothing at hand. Lucky for me, the event happened to be the first ever Repair Cafe in Glenorchy last weekend, and our volunteer seamstress had reported early and sorted out a quick patch so I didn’t have to spend the afternoon walking around with a drop cloth wrapped around my waist.

He may be driving the local school bus and tour coaches these days, but acclaimed Queenstown chef Grant Jackson has cooked for dignitaries like former US President Bill Clinton, and trained some of NZ’s best chef exports.

A bright idea backed by a $2000 grant is saving an estimated 8760 disposable nappies from landfill each year. The Glenorchy Reusable Nappy Back has a dozen nappy packs out in the community, each containing 20 washable nappies.

Takahē could once again be roaming in the Rees Valley in Queenstown Lakes before the end of next year. The flightless bird is a conservation icon in New Zealand, having been incorrectly labelled extinct three times.

NZ’s biggest international tourism trade show was back with a bang for the first time in four years last week (9-11 May) with Queenstown operators turning out in record numbers to show off what the resort has to offer to hundreds of holiday market buyers from around the world.

Rob Phillips has been appointed the independent chair of the newly-formed Wānaka Airport Liaison Committee.

NASA has crashed its second super pressure balloon (SPB) into the Pacific Ocean after it developed a leak.

More than one hundred tītī / muttonbirds have crash landed in Northern Southland, following the chilling southerly blast that has lashed the south in the last few days.

Wakatipu High School students considering a career in trades are getting hands-on experience through a SIT | Te Pūkenga Tertiary Academy programme.

Auckland-based indie-folk band Tiny Ruins will play at the Sherwood on Saturday 13 May as part of their headlining tour supporting the release of their latest album, Ceremony.

Taking the crown for the Wakatipu’s oldest living born and bred local, Bill Dagg epitomises the Southern Man… and not because he drinks Speights.

The life story of a pioneering New Zealand mountaineer, who suffered a broken neck while climbing in Fiordland in 2015, has won the Nankervis/Bamford NZ Mountain Book of the Year for 2023.

Tourists will be encouraged to take their time exploring the south through a new sustainable tourism campaign, originally conceived by much-loved former Destination Queenstown boss, the late Graham Budd.

Showbiz Queenstown is bringing the classic musical, Little Shop of Horrors, to Queenstown from next week. The show is a sci-fi/comedy/musical that has devoured the hearts of theatre goers for more than 30 years.

Hāwea is now home to a set of consistent waves thanks to some Kiwi ingenuity. YourWave is a unique artificial surf wave and the brain child of product designer Ross McCarthy. It’s suitable for surfers of all abilities – beginners can learn to pop-up, while experts can carve steeper breaking waves.

Queenstown-Lakes is facing an accommodation crisis so I recently hosted the National Party’s Housing Spokesperson, Chris Bishop, so that he could hear and see for himself what is happening in our town. Along with a public meeting, Chris and I met with the people directly affected, social agencies, and business owners.

In a day long before it was fashionable Tonnie Spijkerbosch led the charge on repurposing, renowned locally as a creative entrepreneurial visionary, plumbing genius and King of DIY.

Pack the snow chains in the car, snow is forecast for the Crown Range and possibly lower tonight.

It is very encouraging to see the business levels year to date, with visitor numbers remaining positive. While we are certainly not out to the woods yet, figures to date this year versus 12 months ago are a positive sign. It was pleasing to see the latest business confidence results for New Zealand.