A holiday wildlife tour ended in hypothermia for four young women kayaking near Taiaroa Head, in Otago, yesterday.

Fire safety officers are investigating the cause of a Dunedin house fire in which a dog died yesterday.

Dunedin's reputation with cruise lines is among the world's worst, and behind the soured image are badly behaved tour operators, Cruise New Zealand says.

A Dunedin woman was tight-lipped when she rang 111, after mistakenly gluing her lips together.

The woman behind a controversial $100 million waterfront hotel bid in Dunedin says she will compromise to secure a deal with the Dunedin City Council.

The man convicted of the manslaughter of a Dunedin man in an inner-city McDonalds two years ago is due to be released from prison.

The company bidding to build a $100 million waterfront hotel in Dunedin is taking its fight to the Environment Court.

The man chosen as dean of the Dunedin School of Medicine says he will be leaving the job he loves so he can help others fulfil their potential.

A large landslip forced the evacuation of 11 houses in Dunedin early this morning.

Rueben Skipper was bodyboarding barrel after barrel at Aramoana last Thursday afternoon when suddenly "there was no more water - just sand".

A man who told police he thought "lamb chops on the barbecue would be nice" has been convicted of wilfully ill-treating two sheep he killed at a farm on Christmas Day.

A Dunedin woman had a narrow escape when a landslip trapped her inside her home and brought a tree down on her car.

The family of a Dunedin man found dead in a Thai apartment complex are distraught and angry they learnt of his death through media reports rather than police.

Finding a 10-year-old girl in the back seat of a car driven by a woman who recorded a breath-alcohol level nearly three times the limit has dismayed and disappointed Dunedin police.

Sinkholes at the Esplanade at St Clair will be filled with gravel as concern builds about high tides expected later this week.

'Sort it out yourself' 88-year-old Len Hesford was told by his local DHB after he was billed for home help he was entitled to for free.

Bleak weather and a move to Dunedin's Middle Beach failed to dampen the spirits of swimmers at the annual Polar Plunge yesterday.

A new $23,000 clock in Mosgiel, near Dunedin, is ''overstating'' temperatures by up to 10degC.

Move over, Gareth Morgan. A Dunedin woman concerned about the number of feral cats roaming the city has a radical solution for ridding Dunedin of such its undesirables.

A complaint against Dunedin judge Stephen O'Driscoll has led the Chief District Court Judge to decide he should no longer sit in the city's courts.

A nationwide search is on for appropriately skilled people to provide advice on fixing the Esplanade in Dunedin and retaining sand at St Clair Beach in the long term.

An Otago University student who went missing after leaving a friend's flat on Monday night has been found in Alexandra.

Controversial plans for a $100 million 27-level Dunedin hotel have been knocked back.

Scarfie favourite, Dunedin's Captain Cook Tavern, could close by the middle of this month.

A Christchurch-based right-wing political party has delivered anti-Chinese government flyers in the South as it prepares to form Otago branches.

Lifelong railways enthusiast Ken Sloper will make his last trip between Dunedin and Pukerangi as Taieri Gorge Railway's senior driver today.

Sinkholes in the Esplanade at St Clair could get bigger over the next week, but the Dunedin City Council is happy the damage is contained to that immediate area.

A University of Otago building programme to the tune of more than $350 million will be "massively positive" for the Dunedin economy, Otago Chamber of Commerce president Peter McIntyre says.