A group of friends who were on board a helicopter that crashed last weekend - killing one of them - have paid tribute to a "bloody good mate" who lived for adventure.

A ski industry worker who died in a sleep-out fire near Wanaka in the early hours of yesterday morning has been named by police.

A person is dead following a house fire in Wanaka overnight.

On a scenic flight in the south, Elizabeth Carlson gets into the pilot's seat.

The congregation at St Paul’s Church is preparing for "a tough couple of weeks" as the fatal crash of a churchgoer on a skiing holiday was announced.

One person is dead and six more injured - four of them seriously - following a helicopter crash on Mt Alta, near Wanaka, this afternoon, police have confirmed.

Belinda and Campbell Stewart spent their first married moments alone on a mountain peak for perhaps the most dramatic wedding photos ever.

The World Cup final cost some football fans a day's skiing yesterday, with scores of skiers turned away from Cardrona skifield, despite good weather.

The World Cup final appears to have cost some football fans a day's skiing.

A helicopter broke apart in midair near Wanaka after the rotors struck the tail during turbulence, killing the trainee pilot and instructor, a crash investigation has found.

One of the victims of a 'highly trusted' farm manager jailed for stealing $335k of stock and farm items says he couldn't have acted alone.

Glad Cross' golf game started out well below par on Tuesday, but the 91-year-old Wanaka woman finished it on a high after scoring her fifth hole-in-one.

By this time next year, the first buildings could be going up in Wanaka's single-biggest commercial and residential development.

Eleven high school pupils who posted photos of themselves online smashing bottles and urinating in the yard of a Queenstown holiday home retreat could face serious charges.

A Central Otago farmer - said to be in the process of brokering a multimillion-dollar export deal with the United Arab Emirates.

Police are interviewing the driver of a white four wheel drive in their inquiry into the death of Rutger Telford Hale.

Elisabeth Easther pays our winter wonderland a visit.

The body of a local politician has been found in Lake Wanaka, after his family raised the alarm when he failed to return from a fly-fishing trip at the Makarora River mouth.

Danielle Wright experiences cross-country skiing at Wanaka.

A pest control programme on land near Lake Wanaka has eradicated almost 700 pests - including a cat compared in size to a panther - in little more than a year.

A couple have appeared in court after their child was removed from school last April and apparently didn't return for the rest of the year.

Residents around Lakes Wanaka and Wakatipu appear to have come through heavy rain over the last two days unscathed. However, with peak levels now due around noon today, the threat of possible flooding remains.

A 10-year-old girl thought to have received an electrical shock during a lightning strike at the Wanaka swimming pool has resumed her holiday.

Predicted heavy rain from tomorrow is raising concerns about possible flooding of lakes Wakatipu and Wanaka.

Snow stopped tourists in their tracks on the Crown Range between Wanaka and Queenstown yesterday morning.