A teenager who sped through Southland at 141km/h in foggy, wet conditions this morning told police he was "running late for school".

Fire crews and Fonterra staff are cleaning up after two hazardous cleaning agents spilled at a plant overnight.

One person is dead after a car was discovered submerged in a culvert near Balfour, Southland.

A former principal of a Canterbury school facing child sex charges from the 1990s remains in custody.

This friendly town is a fabulous place from which to explore the Catlins.

A heavy snow warning is in place for parts of the country and some main roads have closed.

Make sure you wrap up warm for the next few weeks - frigid temperatures are set to make August the coldest month of the year.

A truck carrying gas bottles has crashed into a fence in Southland, trapping the driver inside.

Firefighters are at the scene of a large fire at an Invercargill business early this morning.

The quake struck 30km west of Te Anau at 2.55pm, according to GeoNet.

The fire was put out soon after fire crews arrived and the elderly Southland couple was treated at the scene.

Karen De Luna is the police's prime suspect in the death of Southland toddler Bea Daleon, who died after her skull was fractured in 2012.

Shandelle Battersby gets a taste of tramping through the bush, with the luxury of home.

Southland couple who have lost four babies - each about 20 weeks after conception - are appealing to find a woman willing to be a surrogate mother.

Ngapuhi leader Sonny Tau has admitted concocting a story with his daughter's partner about who shot five protected wood pigeons (kereru) last year.

The man killed in yesterday's helicopter crash in the Lindis Pass area has been named.

Employers at a Southland meatworks have been vindicated for firing an employee who punched a colleague in the face.

A 12-year-old boy has been airlifted to hospital after breaking his leg when a piggyback from his father went awry.

Neil Stirling is believed to be missing at Glenham after his vehicle was found near the Mokoreta River, about 5km southeast of Wyndham.

Our third island offers friendly locals and an array of adventures.

The snacking is plentiful down south, discovers Louise Richardson.

Two women who died as a result of a crash in Fiordland on Friday may have been killed by a falling tree.

Neville Peat salutes the Milford Track's glorious tramping history.

Paul Rush finds Gore is hooked on trout, hooch, abstract art, insects and music.

Investigators won't say why it took seven hours for the survivor of a fatal Southland crash to contact police.

Flights have been delayed or cancelled in and out of Wellington airport today as strong winds batter the capital.

Police have released the name of the man who died in a work accident at a goldmine in Southland last night.

If you missed out on the free lease of Stanley's Hotel at Macraes, don't worry ... the owner of the Garston Hotel in Northern Southland, is offering the same deal.

Whisky and art are the first drawcards - but Colin Hogg is surprised to find there's much more to the once-named Chicago of the south.

Police have released the name of a man killed in a crash in Southland over the weekend.