A Te Anau worker described seeing cars "rolling around in the carpark" when a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck the lower South Island this morning.
The moderate quake - centred 40km west of Milford Sound in Fiordland at a depth of 5km at 10.20am - was widely felt across the South Island and into the lower North Island.
Te Anau Helicopters employee Helen Archer said she and another worker at the site were still feeling "sea-sick" after what felt like a 20 to 30-second earthquake.
"We certainly felt it. We've got cars out the front here and they were just rolling around in the carpark there.
"It was just rolling. The two of us here feel a bit car-sick or sea-sick still."
Archer said there were about six vehicles in the carpark and they were all seen "rocking side to side" outside when the quake hit.
"It wasn't a violent earthquake. It was just jiggling.
"We're probably kind of used to earthquakes down here, but it was just rolling for a long time. It just kept going and we're still feeling a bit yuk."
Southern Discoveries Milford Sound operations manager Wolfgang Hainzl said it was "not too bad".
"We felt but was it was nothing unusual for us. Eartquakes are pretty regular here so we are not too frightened."
So far, there have been no reports of damage or injuries associated with this earthquake.
Emergency Southland manager and group controller Angus McKay said first investigations into the earthquake indicated there were was nothing to worry about.
‘‘Everybody felt it in Milford Sound and Te Anau. There’s no damage and no injuries reported.’’
‘‘It’s just another reminder that we live in a shaky country,’’Mr McKay said.
Residents of Queenstown, Wanaka, and Dunedin also all reporting feeling strong shaking.
A 4.2 magnitude aftershock struck at 10.25am - 25km west of Milford Sound at a depth of 8km.
Multiple residents in Queenstown felt it and said there was a rumbling for about 15 seconds.
One Dunedin homeowner said she felt a short rocking motion, lasting only a few seconds, while a Wanaka resident said her windows rattled.
Southland District deputy mayor Ebel Kremer lives in Te Anau but didn't feel it - he was operating his digger at the time.
He'd received a flurry of text messages from many who did, who commented "oh what a beautie" and "did you feel that one?!"
Caltex Te Anau owner Stephen Stock described the quake as "a goodie".
"We just felt the big roll come right through."
He said his priority was getting all the staff outside.
He estimated it lasted for about five to eight seconds.
A spokesman for Fire and Emergency NZ southern communications centre said they hadn't yet received any calls or reports of damage in the area.
Several residents of the the lower North Island also felt the quake.
Just before 10.30am, 22 people reported it feeling like a "strong" quake, while three dubbed it "severe."
Three others said it felt "extreme."
- additional reporting Louise Scott/Luisa Girao
