Two kayakers have been rescued after a scary encounter with sea lions left them trapped on the rocks.

The financial cost of smoking couldn't be more stark in this image posted online.

One person has died and another has been airlifted to hospital with critical injuries.

A Balclutha man who stabbed a sheep to death told the farmer he did it because he was hungry.

A wooden fence post fell off the back of a truck and went through the windscreen of a vehicle the driver was passing.

A hunter who got lost and spent two nights in freezing conditions in the Blue Mountains has vowed to return to the area for some unfinished business.

The search for a missing hunter who has been lost in the bush near Balclutha since Saturday is continuing this morning.

Search and rescue teams looking for a missing hunter near Balclutha have called in search dogs tonight.

A 13-year-old girl who died after drowning in a Southland bay wasn't wearing an appropriate lifejacket, a coroner has found.

The death of a 13-year-old girl after a boat capsized in rough weather in South Otago yesterday afternoon has left the community in shock.

Two men have been arrested after a south Otago woman was assaulted during a home invasion at Kaka Point on Sunday night.

A 65-year-old woman is in Dunedin Hospital with facial injuries after she was hit with a piece of wood by two men who invaded her home near Balclutha.

Elisabeth Easther explores the Big River Town.

The body of a person, believed to be missing Clutha teenager Blake Sinclair, has been found today.

A South Island couple in their 50s has admitted taking nearly $180,000 in welfare benefits over 23 years.

The family of missing teenager Blake Sinclair will carry out their own private search of the Clutha River after the official search was scaled down, police say.

The search for missing South Otago teenager Blake McKenzie Sinclair will today become a recovery operation, police say.