Joe Dodgshun

Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden has cracked down on the Queenstown Airport Corporation, leading a move to change its statement of intent - one of the documents that allowed the QAC board to sell shares secretly to Auckland Airport last year.

More than 1500 people turned out yesterday for the limited opening of Queenstown's Coronet Peak skifield, which will this weekend be followed by that of the Remarkables.

Every man and his dog made their way to Coronet Peak for yesterday's long-awaited opening, which not only kept snow-lovers happy, but saw the Winter Festival dog derby make a welcome return.

Plummeting temperatures and two days of snow-making have finally allowed two southern skifields to open today - NZSki's Coronet Peak near Queenstown and Wanaka's Snow Park on the Pisa Range.

Heralded by the tribal beats of Japanese drummers, the 38th Queenstown Winter Festival mardi gras began in a spectacular fusion of lanterns, street theatre, music and good old-fashioned party spirit last night as thousands of people hit the streets and waterfront to soak up the atmosphere.

Excitement is running high at Queenstown's Kiwi Birdlife Park with a raft of development projects under way or in the pipeline, and a national award for its recently refurbished Campbell Island Teal duck enclosure.

A hawaiian peninsula is now almost completely predator free, thanks in part to a Te Anau conservator.

Organisers of the Winter Games festival programme are taking ski couture back to its roots at August's adventure expo with a "Retro Ski Fashion Contest".

Queenstown fishing charter company is aiming to expand into hunting activities by introducing on-the-boat shooting on Lakes Wakatipu, Wanaka and Hawea.

For those wishing to prove their mettle against Wakatipu's winter waters, paddle boarding and surfboard paddling races have been added to Sunday's Winter Festival Day on the Bay festivities.

A "flagship" outlet of men's clothing chain Hallensteins will open in Queenstown almost 150 years after founder and former mayor Bendix Hallenstein first opened a general store in the town.

Remarkables Park is looking to bring "a wider mix of activities" to its new shopping centre with a proposed $3.5 million building including an indoor swimming school and a children's playcentre.

In a move to make Queenstown more "event friendly", the Queenstown Lakes District Council has applied for consent to facilitate events held on council-owned reserves for the next 10 years.