Southland Express

A $200 instant fine will be issued if "freedom camping" rules are broken, the Department of Conservation (Doc) Wakatipu area office warns.

Invercargill was battered yesterday by what an emergency service official described as one of the worst hailstorms the city has experienced.

Southland Conservation Board members yesterday discussed the concession system for Milford Sound air access, seeking a course of action to appease users of Fiordland National Park and tourism operators.

The chance to get up close and personal with one of the world's rarest birds does not come along every day, but this Saturday Southlanders will be able to spend some quality time with the endangered kakapo.

Another year, another call for volunteers as a vital service faces tough times.

The much sought after tourist dollar may soon be shelling out for more than Southland produce.

Optimism is high, but disappointment and sadness not far behind in the fall out from Solid Energy's well-signalled decision to close its Ohai coal mine at the end of June.

The desks might have been stacked and computers switched off for the year, but the rumblings of democracy are still being heard loud and clear at the Southern Institute of Technology.

The holiday period might actually herald the most significant milestone of the quest to establish a student association, with confidence abounding in organisers that they have the numbers to force a vote in 2009.

Construction of a new access road to the start of the Humpridge and South Coast tracks is currently under way.

The first well drilled by L&M Petroleum, in its search for coal seam gas near Ohai is expected to be completed next week after problems with the drilling equipment put a halt to the job.