James Beech

Opening doors, paying for goods in shops, retrieving dropped items and turning light switches on or off are everyday actions most of us take for granted.

A top Queenstown photographer is exhibiting a dozen of his latest works for the first time in Wakatipu and supporting a charity funding research into life-threatening illnesses.

Entrepeneur Michael Hill threw open the gates of his exclusive Arrowtown golf course The Hills to the potential stars of the future yesterday and gave them a few personal words of wisdom.

The success of predator control programme Operation Ark yesterday led to the largest translocation of rare mohua attempted by the Department of Conservation.

Queenstown's central business district began reinventing itself again last Friday when contractors demolished the Shotover St end of The Plaza Arcade.

A chance meeting with a Queenstown restaurateur led to a career break for a young chef from Southern California, who is adding to the authentic taste of a Mexican eatery.

A 21-year-old Canadian woman was being assessed for a possible fractured pelvis in Lakes District Hospital last night after the campervan she was driving collided with a freight truck in Queenstown.

World Wetlands Day is celebrated on February 2 every year but a rare and wonderful example of New Zealand's precious ecosystems can be enjoyed any time in Glenorchy.

Members of the Queenstown and District Historical Society voted unanimously to wind up the 43-year-old association and appointed the former executives as a steering committee to form an "empowered" replacement.

Otago MP Jacqui Dean says the Department of Conservation's shifting of its Wakatipu area office out of Queenstown because of high rents is "a nonsense" as its regional visitor centre was only brought to Shotover St about a year ago.

The steering group behind Queenstown's community guides want to make the trial a permanent fixture, but questions remain on how the guides would be funded and under which structure they would operate once the Ministry of Justice crime prevention unit's two-year Curbing Alcohol Related Violence (Carv) programme ends in January.

Kiwis are wanting more from their tea-drinking experience than the humble teabag dunked for a few seconds in a cup full of boiled water.

Sharp rent increases and an almost doubling of permanent staff prompted the Wakatipu area office of the Department of Conservation to move from central Queenstown to a $1.9 million commercial building in Arthurs Pt.

A collision on Malaghans Rd appears to have caused one vehicle to crash into an electricity pole, which cut power to parts of Arrowtown and Coronet Peak yesterday morning.

Winds of 100kmh and rain forced Coronet Peak managers to cancel the celebratory party that was to mark the end of a successful ski season yesterday.

The special service at St Paul's Church yesterday celebrated 125 years of Anglican ministry and worship in Arrowtown, and paid tribute to one of its most dedicated parishioners.

James Beech takes us down a track that offers a look back in time.

More than 50 households were evacuated as a precaution when a contractor broke a gas line at Lake Hayes Estate near Queenstown yesterday.