Fire crews around the South Island were kept busy with three large and a number of small fires overnight.

Danielle Wright and family share the water with albatrosses, bottlenose dolphins and sea lions on a wilderness cruise through Doubtful Sound.

Elisabeth Easther finds fascination in a great bank robbery in a beautiful town.

A Southland farmer has been ordered to pay $152,000 in fines and reparations after a worker on his farm was crushed to death in August last year.

A 26-year-old man suffered a fractured skull in a "senseless" unprovoked attack in Invercargill over the weekend.

A search had been mounted last night after the boat was reported missing on the Waiau River in Western Southland.

A wildlife expedition to Fiordland takes you up close to a pristine land of legend and glacial beauty, writes Jim Eagles.

A police dog handler whose animal bit a suspected criminal, who turned out to be an innocent man relieving himself in a car park, has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Intrepid trampers or a bunch of softies? Pam Neville puts the case for guided walks.

Pamela Wade finds the unspoiled beauty of New Zealand's southeast is wasted on some.

The designer of the Southland Stadium, the roof of which collapsed under heavy snow in 2010, has been expelled from the Institution of Professional Engineers NZ.

The Invercargill woman charged with keeping too many cats on her city property can be now be named.

Angry friends and relatives of a young Southland hunter walked out of court when it became apparent the man who mistook him for a deer wouldn't be sent to prison.

It's small, but packed with things wild and wonderful, says Elisabeth Easther.

The Invercargill woman charged with keeping too many cats on her city property is continuing the fight to keep her name secret.

The legs get a workout while the eyes are dazzled by the view on this lushly-forested Southland track, writes a weary but astounded Pamela Wade.

A 19-year-old who suffered critical injuries after being hit by a car near Gore last Saturday night has died.

Severe rain and wind warnings and a drop in temperatures have been issued for parts of the South Island and lower North Island this weekend.

No matter what the weather's doing, Pamela Wade finds entertainment in Southland and Central Otago.

Two people have been injured in a collision between a bus and a milk tanker in Southland.