Rebecca Fox

Thunderstorms caused surface flooding and briefly interrupted power in parts of Central Otago at the weekend - but also brought smiles to farmers' faces.

After two years and two knockbacks, Southern Clams' proposal to finish oysters in Otago Harbour will finally go out for public consultation.

Otago rivers are dropping steadily again as the benefits from rain earlier this month evaporate.

Helping administer anaesthetic and fluids to an injured yellow-eyed penguin during surgery was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for two young marine biologists.

The cost of complying with new water-quality regulations could be the ''nail in the coffin'' for some Central Otago farmers, Otago Regional Councillor Gary Kelliher says.

Dorothy Mackle says she learnt early on that her husband Leslie would not argue with her.

Woody wags his tail and jumps for sticks madly like any terrier, but when he puts on his red jacket he is all business.

When Hamish Spencer calls his wife an old fossil, it is not the insult people might think.

Underwater flight - looking over a Yellow-eyed penguin's shoulder from Tawaki Project on Vimeo. Bobbing up to the surface of the sea, a yellow-eyed penguin takes only a small breath before she dives down again in her search for food.

Significant rainfall has eased the ongoing dry period in Otago, but some farmers are still subject to irrigation restrictions.

Recent heavy showers may be the downfall of one of the best rose-growing seasons in many years, Outram Flower Show convener Daphne Macfarlane says.

A cold front hit Otago yesterday morning, dropping temperatures by 10degC in the space of a few hours, but it is predicted to be short-lived, the MetService says.

The Otago Conservation Board is now running in the red, with members concerned it might not have enough funds to adequately do its work in future.

Following staff criticism, a new pilot programme is about to start to try to address problems with the Department of Conservation's new structure.

The Taieri River catchment is not ''out of the woods'' yet and recent rainfall has provided only a week to a fortnight's grace, Otago Regional Council chief executive Peter Bodeker says.

A group of American students see nothing unusual about travelling halfway around the world to survey the public about a marine creature they'd never heard of - the New Zealand sea lion.