Canterbury residents were shaken awake last night by two big earthquakes - exactly a month after the destructive 7.1 quake.

During Waimarino's new Thermal Hot Pool & Glow-worm Cave Kayak Tour, paddlers skirt the bushy shores of Lake Rotoiti before slipping into a cave where glow-worms twinkle all around.

It's been exactly one month since Canterbury was rocked by the devastating 7.1 earthquake so I decided to return to the region to check out the damage.

The Reefton winner of a $10.6m Lotto prize initially figured he must have read the Lotto numbers wrong, so put his ticket aside.

Phillip Bannan bought three bottles of wine and - after several afternoon drinks - decided to drive 87km from Akaroa to Christchurch.

Many farm businesses believed their loans were personally with Allan Hubbard, not Aorangi.

A range of measures has been announced today by the Government to help Cantabrians rebuild their homes after the September 4 earthquake.

Two radio-thons held in Tonga over the past week have raised almost $600,000 for the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Fund.

Hubbard investors have been told they'll be paid three cents in the dollar this month, but will have to wait till next year for possibly another 20 cents.

Are you swelling with national pride? New Zealand has once more been granted Aaa status by international credit-ratings agency Moody's.

NIWA's latest seasonal outlook predicts temperatures in all regions are likely to be above average from October to December.

Sonny Bill Williams returns to the Canterbury starting 15 but not at second five in Saturday's match against Otago.

Incumbent Bob Parker is way ahead of rival Jim Anderton in the Christchurch city mayoralty race, according to a poll issued today.

Sewage will flow into the Kaiapoi River for at least another month and it could take a year to rebuild all the area's quake-damaged sewerage systems.