Heavy snow has fallen across parts of the South Island cutting power and bringing down trees.

A new Queenstown house has become a local curiosity.

Police executing a search warrant this morning discovered more than 40 cannabis plants and a large amount of methamphetamine items.

The young man who died in a fatal crash near Wanaka had just finished school and was about to start a new job.

Police name the victim of yesterday's fatal crash in Wanaka.

A woman is believed to be in a serious condition after a crash near St Leonards this afternoon.

Samples taken from clippings of victim's fingernails detected DNA 430 times more likely to have come from the accused, court hears.

There are concerns for 17-year-old Yuri Santana, who hasn't been seen for a week.

Two homes in remote areas of Canterbury have been destroyed by fire overnight.

A car has collided with a tree in Wanaka. A police spokeswoman said St John paramedics were at the scene and had called police

Alexander James William Merritt, 21, is on trial accused of beating to death his boss, 51-year-old Karin Ann Ross, with a hammer.

A man charged with arson after a house fire in the Dunedin suburb of Concord will apply for bail tomorrow.

It will be a wet start to the week for the top of the North Island and eastern areas today, however, the rest of the country is expected to stay pretty dry.

Derek Cheng basks in a panoramic view that few have experienced.

Sunday brunch has been a shaky affair for those in the East Cape who've been rocked by a "severe" 5.8 magnitude quake this morning.

Police say that no one had been reported missing and no one was overdue to return from sea.

A motorcyclist is in a serious condition after a crash in the Christchurch suburb of Cashmere.

A North American dishwashing liquid claims to smell like 'New Zealand springs' - let's hope they don't mean Rotorua.

Search continues in Bluff Harbour for two divers feared to have been swept out in the strong current.

Elisabeth Easther explores a Central Otago hamlet, population 300, where newcomers are welcomed with a community dinner.

A man has been rescued by helicopter after his float plane crashed in the Marlborough Sounds this evening. The Nelson Marlborough

A disability advocate is dismayed that a prominent rugby player would treat disabled toilets with such little respect.

A man received moderate burns after a pot of oil overheated causing a fire in a Cromwell Indian restaurant.

Police are hunting for two men who fled on foot after the car they were in crashed into a power pole in the Dunedin suburb of Concord this evening.

A 4.7 magnitude earthquake has rattled the south Island 40km north west of Te Anau shortly before 7pm.

Emergency services faced a gruesome scene as they went to the aid of a lifeless Dunedin woman covered in blood, a High Court jury has been told.

A ''Blueskin blanket'' of thick fog has brought gloom to the coast north of Dunedin after clinging to the landscape for more than 10 days.

The clothes an alleged murderer wore and the hammer he is accused of using to kill his boss looked unfamiliar to the defendant's parents.

A man who continually sexually assaulted a drunk French tourist despite her repeatedly telling him to stop said the victim was "into it".

A group of golfers playing through the mist at the St Clair Golf Club on Saturday morning came up against an unusual hazard.