Tracey Roxburgh

One of Queenstown's top horsewomen was reduced to tears yesterday after discovering her two horses, and a friend's, had had their tail hair hacked off.

News New Zealand's premier golf tournament would return to Queenstown - and in a revamped form - was yesterday described as a ''huge opportunity'' for the area to ''shine on the world stage''.

New Zealand tourism risks becoming predictable if initiatives are not supported by the Government, the backer of a tourist link between Lake Wakatipu and Milford says.

The string of Emmy nominations for television miniseries Top of the Lake is ''exciting'' for the Queenstown Lakes region.

Plans by Riverstone Holdings Ltd to build a 43km monorail through conservation land conflicts with what the New Zealand tourism brand stands for, a University of Canterbury tourism authority says.

Two former Queenstown residents have been fined $27,000 and ordered to refund $19,125 by the Southport Magistrates Court, for falsely claiming they were affiliated with high-profile casting agents.

A proposed Queenstown hotel and a home in Alexandra are among seven New Zealand projects short-listed in the 2013 World Architecture Festival.

Southland Mayor Frana Cardno had tears in her eyes yesterday after Conservation Minister Nick Smith announced he had refused concession for a commercial bus tunnel through two national parks - a decision he described as ''conservative''.

SkyCity Entertainment Group plans to make improvements to Queenstown's Wharf Casino, which it expects to take possession of next week, having gained unconditional approval from the Commerce Commission to buy the company.

Queenstown food lovers indulged in culinary delights at Crowne Plaza Queenstown's threesixty restaurant last week, when members of the Wakatipu Youth Trust's ''Beyond the Basics - Top Chef'' initiative took over the kitchen.

A worldwide movement which started in the United Kingdom in 2004 reached Queenstown recently, when St Peter's Anglican church in Queenstown hosted the resort's inaugural Messy Church.

Former Queenstown bartender Jason Clark made it to the finals of the 2013 Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender of the Year competition, held on a five-day cruise in the Mediterranean.

After seven years, Nick Ristevski finally got the itch to marry.

Wakatipu lost its winning way on Saturday, suffering its first loss of the season to a determined Maniototo side at Ranfurly, while Arrowtown returned to form in the second half of its match against Upper Clutha at the Queenstown Events Centre.

Motorists are being urged to take care over the coming weeks, with the after-effects of the snowstorm followed by the weekend's wild weather expected to be felt for some time.

All aspects of the Queenstown Winter Festival are to be reviewed, but the future of the annual event appears secure.

The first games in the second round of the 2013 Central Otago Rugby Championship gave both Queenstown sides a wake-up call.

The big winter party ended in style last night, as the curtain came down on the 2013 Queenstown Winter Festival.

It was handbags at high noon in Queenstown yesterday as 11 of the resort's businessmen put their pride to one side and their best faces - and outfits - forward, competing for glory in the 2013 Drag Race, part of the Queenstown Winter Festival.