Two young tourists had a lucky escape late this afternoon when they were rescued from Lake Wanaka after being swept into the middle of the lake in a plastic dinghy.

Mount Aspiring College's principal says the school will try to continue with business as usual.

From eco tours to distillery visits, there's plenty to fill a holiday here.

Tennessy Weir checks into a lakefront hotel with a beautiful garden.

One of New Zealand's most exclusive properties for sale is a big Wanaka farm going for $25 million.

A Wanaka man has been charged with ill-treating an animal after a cat was shot.

A woman who drove her child to school while six times over the drink-driving limit has been sentenced to supervision and community work.

A new app by a New Zealand team connects family members young and old in a private, simple space.

Nasa's scientific balloon flight which eventually launched in Wanaka nearly two months ago has come to an end.

A defecating Wanaka burglar has been sentenced to almost two years' jail and ordered to pay$3000 reparation to victims of his New Year crime spree.

The 400m long, 100m high display, created by 800 litres of fuel and about 2km of wiring, will end the airshow at this year's Warbirds Over Wanaka.

A Wanaka woman says she experienced her "worst nightmare'' when her horse was left bloodied and dying after being tied to a tree by a stranger.

New Zealand guest nights rose in November for the 20th month in a row.

A 7-year-old Wanaka boy who is unwanted by the schools in his area is one of dozens of similar cases around the country.

Wanaka family at a loss after school excludes their 7-year-old son and all other schools in the area refuse to take him.

A Wanaka man has been sentenced to six months' community detention for kicking a man's head like he was "taking a place kick in rugby" while the man was on the ground.

An elderly librarian whose vehicle crashed into another librarian's vehicle on a single-lane bridge near Wanaka has been disqualified from driving for six months.

Police senior sergeant Craig Dinnissen said emergency services were called to the scene near Wanaka at 1.10pm.

The winter storm that brought snow and heavy rain to many parts of the South is moving north, but many roads in the region remain affected in its wake this morning.

The South Island resort town of Wanaka has been rocked by a magnitude 4.1 earthquake tonight.

Danielle Wright snowshoes cross-country in Wanaka.

Two men arrested following a serious assault in Wanaka have had charges against them upgraded to attempted murder.

Two men face a charge of attempted murder following the serious assault of a man in Wanaka earlier this month.

Four new snow groomers worth $2 million are busy at Cardrona Alpine Resort preparing the field for an earlier than usual June 13 opening.

Two men charged with seriously assaulting Wanaka man Kahu Vincent on May 9 have continued name suppression at least for now.

Emergency crews trying to extract a man trapped inside his overturned four-wheel-drive looked up for a second and then got on with the job.

Paul Currie accidentally used a broad-spectrum herbicide to treat his grass, prompting his neighbours to think he had been targeted by vandals.

The US space giant has been linked to an apparent unauthorised flight over Wanaka yesterday morning by Sir Peter Jackson's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car.

Following 10 days of unsettled weather in the wake of Cyclone Pam, Nasa will make its second attempt to launch its heavy-lift super pressure balloon.