The kayaker who was hauled by a rope to safety from the swollen Clutha River by helicopter pilot Simon Spencer Bower on Friday is thankful and will pay the estimated $500 costs of his rescue, Queenstown Lakes harbourmaster Marty Black said yesterday.
A 70-year-old kayaker was lucky to survive being tipped from his kayak into the fast-flowing, swollen Clutha River, his rescuer Simon Spencer-Bower said last night.
The Tourism Industry Association is "making good ground at a national level" to assist tourism operators through uncertain times but more can be done at a regional and individual operator level, TIA advocacy manager Geoff Ensor said this week.
Wanaka event organiser Katy Macpherson is calling for volunteers to help with next year's Otago Goldfields Cavalcade, which will finish in Wanaka on February 27-28.
The operators of Wanaka's skifields yesterday warned the public not to go rushing up to the snow-covered mountains just yet, because the risk of avalanches remains high.
Hamish Ludbrook (25), of Wanaka, has decided to share the pain of his mates' campaign to be the first four-man team to row 5742km across the Indian Ocean, and raise money for prostate cancer charities.
Hamish Ludbrook (25), of Wanaka, has now raised $1225 for prostate cancer charities and no longer looks as if he will be rowing every day for a year to reach his $10,000 target.
Snow Sports New Zealand (SSNZ) has appointed United States businessman James Lazor to the newly created position of alpine director.
The new chairman of the reduced Lakes Leisure Ltd is Wanaka resident Mike Saunders.
Wanaka Wastebusters staff will be in Dunedin today as part of their efforts to convince the Government to add packaging to the list of products being targeted by the new Waste Minimisation Act.
He's been Murray, Norman and Angus, but next month, New Zealand entertainer Rhys Darby will be himself, in Wanaka.
Up to 22 houses proposed for a Luggate development could be waterfront properties if Contact Energy decides to build a dam near the small town, 10km east of Wanaka, the Environment Court heard yesterday.
The uncertainty is over and planning for Wanaka's spring festival is under way, with event co-ordinator Laurel Morrison announcing yesterday new sponsors have signed up to help the cash-strapped charitable trust.
An injured 27-year-old Irish tramper was rescued yesterday morning from Lois Peak in the Mt Aspiring National Park following a beacon activation.
Journalist Christina Lamb, the newly appointed US editor for 'The Sunday Times', signs one of her books at the Festival of Colour in Wanaka yesterday. Photo by Marjorie Cook.
In some places in Afghanistan, women have been tortured or killed for reading books, writing poetry or attending a gathering of literary enthusiasts.
But what if the same women came together to sew? And what if they did not actually sew, but read books, wrote poems and took lessons in literature?
Wanaka proudly flew French colours yesterday to mark the premiere of Le Sud, a play by Wellington writer Dave Armstrong, at the Festival of Colour.
Home is where the heart is for Lake Hawea community stalwarts Ken Dennison (58) and Patsy Lambert-Robinson (66), honoured with Queenstown Lakes Heart of the District Awards recently.
A busload of Indian tourists were stopped by police at Franz Josef on Wednesday after two Wanaka clothing stores laid shoplifting complaints against some of the passengers.
Consistent rain since Saturday boosted Lakes Wanaka and Wakatipu close to the first flood alert levels last night, while Lake Hawea, a modified natural lake used as a hydro-electricity storage facility, was almost at the top of its operating range.
Wanaka's weather gods greeted visiting United States climate-change activist and author Bill McKibben with a deluge of rain yesterday.