Syrian refugees sang and danced in the aisles of a train on an "awesome" trip across the Otago countryside yesterday.

A checkout supervisor was "shaking" as she put a winning Lotto ticket barcode to the scanner. The machine beeped and the screen read $13.36 million.

Floods and ice around New Zealand are hitting school holiday travel plans.

Named for a local tribe, a branch of the Waitaha people, and Ngati Mamoe.

Three inexperienced surfers are counting their lucky starfish after getting caught in a rip and being sucked out to sea yesterday.

One in three motorists will drive further to buy cheaper fuel, according to a nationwide survey of our service station habits.

These places will prove to be the cherry on top of your Otago holiday.

An investigation has begun after allegations a female prison officer at the Otago Corrections Facility had a relationship with a male prisoner.

Members of the Dunedin police force scaled the world's steepest street, Baldwin St, with the torch marking 75th anniversary of women in the police force

Study shows that Aucklanders are most likely to have experienced road rage than any other city.

A Canadian wept as he was sentenced today for careless driving causing the death of an 81-year-old woman near Owaka.

Investigators seek cause of overnight blazes.

Dredging of shipping canal leads to explosive discovery.

Police are investigating a serious assault which took place on the corner of the Octagon and Princes Street in Dunedin at 1.45am on Sunday, June 12.

Jock Davies looks like any other sports-mad Kiwi kid, but behind his youthful grin is courage aplenty.

All Blacks greeted with a powerful haka by local high schools on their arrival in Dunedin Airport for their last test match against Wales

Two men plucked from Lake Wakatipu after an ill-equipped attempt to go camping on an island are lucky to be alive, Queenstown's harbourmaster says.

A firefighter rescued a woman from a tree in a flooded Otago river after a boating accident.

Alarm after tuberculosis-positive cow discovered at his farm.

A week of planning and two days of hard graft using a bulldozer was what it took to free 13 4WD vehicles stuck in the snow for a fortnight up the Old Man Range.

Owners were reported to be attempting to retrieve their snow-buried cars today, but no progress has been made.

Driving past the orchards, wineries and small agricultural towns of Otago brought to mind trips through California's Central Valley.

Seven people have been injured, three seriously, in a crash north of Makarora this afternoon.

Clothing hanging too close to an open fire is the likely cause of a house fire near Portobello on Monday night.

An Otago man who was blamed for a 72ha fire near Kurow this summer has yet to learn whether he will be forced to pay the more than $60,000 bill he received.

A group of four-wheel-drive enthusiasts trapped in snow in Central Otago planned on retrieving their vehicles with a bulldozer until authorities scuppered the scheme.

Police are hunting a driver who fled the scene after crashing through a give way sign in Otago early this morning.

A man who helped rescue stranded 4WD enthusiasts trapped in Central Otago after a snowstorm has criticised the police operation to rescue the group.

Uncertainty remains over whether the 4WD enthusiasts who were rescued from the Old Man Range on Monday will be able to claim insurance on their abandoned vehicles.