Christina McDonald

People are being urged to put bait and traps in their ceilings if rodent infestations are suspected, after a historic home near Queenstown was destroyed by fire on Sunday.

Fire safety investigators and an electrical specialist will examine an ''area of interest'' in the ceiling of the historic Lower Shotover Rd house which was partly destroyed by fire on Sunday morning.

Ice hockey has a reputation as a physical sport, but Southern Stampede players say an incident that left Canadian import Matt Schneider sprawled on the ice on Sunday night was unacceptable.

Jacks Point might soon offer Queenstown's newest tourism activity, enabling participants to ride inside an inflatable ball down a hill.

Warmer weather has followed the cold snap which left Queenstown coated in ice last week.

Queenstown-born and raised Aston Brookes (21) has returned to the resort as a qualified arborist and as hungry as ever for a gold medal in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League.

Uncertainty hangs over road funding in Queenstown Lakes district, which could be short-changed by up to $1.4 million.

In just four hours, Queenstown police issued fines totalling $4700 to drivers using cellphones and to people in vehicles not wearing seat belts.

He has called Queenstown home for 12 years but North Island brown kiwi Nyoni left the resort yesterday for a North Island sanctuary.

Five years ago, the Queenstown Lakes District Council was spending more than $17 million annually on consultants.

New knight and Southern Lakes Helicopters pilot Richard ''Hannibal'' Hayes seldom knows exactly what is next on the horizon.

The frost on parts of Frankton Rd, in Queenstown, does not disappear even during daylight hours at this time of year in Queenstown.

Queenstown Primary School's new principal is glad to leading a school where ''kids are kids''.