Hamish MacLean

Wayne Richardson's 2ha property beside State Highway 1 at Herbert clearly shows a lifestyle out of the ordinary. Otago Daily Times photographer ChristineO'Connor could not resist stopping for a visit. And as North Otago reporter Hamish MacLean finds out, she is not the only passerby who has stopped for a photograph.

A little bit of rain was not going to dampen Sienna Hawke's day at the South Canterbury A&P Show at Waimate on Saturday.

Humpback whales could soon appear in the Waitaki district.

The driver of this Subaru wagon, which hit the police station gate in Hampden yesterday about 2.25pm, did the right thing, police say.

Oamaru's Victorian Heritage Celebrations show the Waitaki town's inventive nature and passion for fun, its mayor says.

 A freight train coming off the rails in North Otago created a "horrible ... screeching, scraping noise" at 2am on Saturday, but the only person on board was not injured.

Oamaru man looking after his mother with Alzheimer's is reaching out to those who have looked to unconventional therapies when caring for a loved one with the disease some call ''the long goodbye''.

People come to Oamaru for the heritage and the wildlife, Oamaru Adventures director Nigel Ryburn says.

When in Oamaru, do as the Oamaruvians do.

Eight people face more than 70 charges after a drugs bust in Waimate yesterday.

For the first time artists at the Oamaru Stone Symposium will be asked to consider a theme.

Damage to Heriot shearers' quarters which caught fire on Tuesday night could have been a lot worse.

Nineteen jobs are under threat after the embattled Bruce Woollen Mill at Milton was placed in receivership.

Hundreds of people turned out to hear music from eight bands as the Penguin Entertainers Club's celebrated 25 years at Friendly Bay on Sunday.

Moeraki adventurer Tom MacTavish is returned from retracing Sir Ernest Shackleton's heroic crossing of the subantarctic island of South Georgia 100 years ago. North Otago reporter Hamish MacLean caught up with him back at home.

The 10th Oamaru Stone Symposium has produced the best work the town has seen since the spring carving celebration began, the symposium's chairman Matt King says.

The North Otago Irrigation Company's $57 million expansion down the Kakanui Valley is well under way.

Oamaru's historic harbour breakwater is being repaired.