Tracey Roxburgh

Queenstown teenager Amelia Gatward-Ferguson booked another trip to Australia after winning the New Zealand Gold Panning Championships overall title on Sunday for the second consecutive year.

Wanaka golfer Michael Bayliss booked the trip of a lifetime on Sunday night in Queenstown, being crowned winner of the 2014 Mercedes Trophy and a member of ''Team New Zealand'', to travel to Germany later this year.

New compasses, whistles and other practical items will probably be bought for Wakatipu LandSAR following a donation of just over $1000 from Z Queenstown.

As the first drops of rain fell in Arrowtown late yesterday afternoon, the final pints were poured on the Village Green, closing the first full weekend of events in the 30th Arrowtown Autumn Festival.

An 18-year-old Invercargill man has been charged with driving while disqualified and careless driving after an unscheduled dip in the Arrow River on Monday afternoon.

A Central Otago man has unveiled plans for a ground-breaking initiative he believes will improve road safety in New Zealand, initially targeting overseas drivers.

Police should be given the power to remove drivers deemed incompetent from New Zealand roads, Queenstown's top police officer says.

Respected Wanaka resident Kenneth George Copland drowned last year while fly-fishing at the Makarora River delta probably after losing his footing and being swept into Lake Wanaka, a coroner has heard.

Just over two hours before a Chinese national killed two motorcyclists, a motorist reported her "erratic'' driving behaviour to police via a *555 call.

A prime Queenstown waterfront site, occupied by stables many years ago, could be used for a $6 million, three-storey development.

Six English people living in Queenstown will be asked to cover the cost of fighting a fire at Cecil Peak earlier this month.

A family business in Wanaka faces an uncertain future after the Alcohol and Regulatory Licensing Authority (ARLA) yesterday ruled the owners had four months to either lease the bar area or sell the business after drugs were found on the premises.

Stage two of the Around the Mountains Cycle Trail got a $1 million boost yesterday after it was announced it is getting a 2014 Lottery Significant Projects Fund grant.

Wakatipu LandSAR has been able to buy six lithium-ion batteries for use in hand-held radios after a request for assistance from the Queenstown Lions was accepted.

The glasses are polished, the menu decided, the lawns have been cut and the boat has been shined.

Budding entrepreneurs from Wakatipu High School hope tomorrow's visit to Queenstown by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will directly benefit children with cancer.

About two hours before a Chinese woman killed two motorcyclists, a motorist reported her ''erratic'' driving behaviour to police via a *555 call.

The Southern District Health Board will today be asked to endorse the development of a health campus at the Lakes District Hospital site in Queenstown, designed to meet the future needs of the resort.

The Otago Regional Council will test the Arrow River in the next 10 days to ascertain if didymo is present after a sample taken from the irrigation system at The Hills golf course tested positive.