Australians are being encouraged by Queenstown's tourism body to pull a sickie and fly to the resort for a long weekend.

New Zealand's most expensive accommodation is in Queenstown, with a night's stay costing an average of $226, a survey has found.

It's cheaper for Kiwis to spend a night at a hotel in Paris than it is for an overnight stay in Queenstown, a survey has found.

A British man brutally attacked a tourist in Queenstown less than six weeks after being convicted of a similar offence in Australia.

The winners in the annual Condé Nast Traveler magazine Reader Choice Awards survey have been announced.

A Queenstown couple have asked for a second chance for their pet schnauzer dogs after they were found responsible for killing three lambs on a neighbouring farm.

Police said they had launched a search for Queenstown man Jack Nicholson, 23, who was last seen around 1.30am yesterday, and later reported as missing to police.

A tourist who slapped his teenage son around the face has been given a suspended sentence by a judge who accepted "cultural differences" were a factor.

Today a close friend paid tribute to Roger Greville, who died after being pulled from snow near Queenstown: "He will be well missed".

The heli-ski operator that flew in skier Roger Greville who was yesterday hit by an avalanche and later died has suspended its operations.

A skier has died after being buried in an avalanche south of Queenstown today.

James Russell is amazed during a trip to Queenstown to discover that since he last grasped poles, Kiwi skifields have lifted their game higher than the Matterhorn.

The woman who died in a two-car crash in Queenstown on Friday was Jennifer Claire Scott, 76.

The woman was driving on Frankton-Ladies Mile Highway when her vehicle and another collided head on.

A second body has been found in a field of avalanche debris in the hunt for missing Canadian students.

Searchers looking for two young Canadians missing in the South Island spotted a body in a field of avalanche debris late today.

Police are hunting for two missing Canadian tourists who have gone missing in the South Island.

He spent a night with Kim from Seattle and loved footy and foreign girls. He recorded all his Kiwi adventures in diary but he didn't leave his name.

A housekeeper has been sentenced to community work after she assaulted her partner and her brother in a series of violent outbursts.

Flights in and out of Queenstown Airport were on hold this morning due to ice on the runway, in a "never seen before" snap freeze.

Police say they are frustrated at the behaviour of Queenstown's winter revellers after almost 30 incidents - most involving alcohol - at the weekend.

Frustrated Jetstar passengers left stranded after their flight to Queenstown was detoured are once again en route to their original destination by coach.

The winter storm that brought snow and heavy rain to many parts of the South is moving north, but many roads in the region remain affected in its wake this morning.

Queenstown Lakes District Council boss Adam Feeley has "total integrity", Minister of Building and Housing Nick Smith says.

Elisabeth Easther scopes out the many attractions of the tiny community nestled at the end of Lake Wakatipu.

Two people escaped a fierce fire which gutted two Queenstown houses yesterday.

Former SFO boss Adam Feeley is facing an Auditor-General probe into how his family's land has been managed.