Three people killed in a horror smash in Central Otago this afternoon were all foreign nationals, police say.

A prosecution could be in the wind for TradeMe founder Sam Morgan, after a burn-off on his property on Tuesday blanketed Wanaka in smoke.

Thick smoke from a farmer's burn-off blanketed Wanaka for much of yesterday afternoon, angering some residents and perplexing tourists.

Police are still in the dark as to what caused a Dutch visitor to lie down on a dimly-lit Wanaka road before he was run over by a taxi and killed last weekend.

As an inquest begins into the death of Rutger Hale from a mystery object that smashed through his car windscreen, his family say they believe someone knows what happened.

A Dutch pedestrian killed when he was hit by a taxi in Wanaka at the weekend may have been lying on the road at the time, police say.

Police have not ruled out that a man struck and killed by a car in Wanaka overnight was lying in the road when he was hit.

A group of friends who were on board a helicopter that crashed last weekend - killing one of them - have paid tribute to a "bloody good mate" who lived for adventure.

A ski industry worker who died in a sleep-out fire near Wanaka in the early hours of yesterday morning has been named by police.

The congregation at St Paul’s Church is preparing for "a tough couple of weeks" as the fatal crash of a churchgoer on a skiing holiday was announced.

One person is dead and six more injured - four of them seriously - following a helicopter crash on Mt Alta, near Wanaka, this afternoon, police have confirmed.

Belinda and Campbell Stewart spent their first married moments alone on a mountain peak for perhaps the most dramatic wedding photos ever.

The World Cup final cost some football fans a day's skiing yesterday, with scores of skiers turned away from Cardrona skifield, despite good weather.

The World Cup final appears to have cost some football fans a day's skiing.

Wanaka traders threw open their doors this Easter after being secretly told there would be no Labour inspectors around to catch them, it's been reported.

A Wanaka police officer was left bloodied and bruised after being attacked inside his patrol car yesterday - six years after being seriously injured in a similar drink-drive stop.

A helicopter broke apart in midair near Wanaka after the rotors struck the tail during turbulence, killing the trainee pilot and instructor, a crash investigation has found.

By this time next year, the first buildings could be going up in Wanaka's single-biggest commercial and residential development.

Eleven high school pupils who posted photos of themselves online smashing bottles and urinating in the yard of a Queenstown holiday home retreat could face serious charges.

A Central Otago farmer - said to be in the process of brokering a multimillion-dollar export deal with the United Arab Emirates.

Police are interviewing the driver of a white four wheel drive in their inquiry into the death of Rutger Telford Hale.

A rural road near Wanaka is being searched for a mystery object which smashed through a car windscreen this morning, killing the driver.

A pair of US tourists had to be rescued by a police search and rescue team after becoming stranded on the banks of the Haast River yesterday afternoon.

Elisabeth Easther pays our winter wonderland a visit.

The body of a local politician has been found in Lake Wanaka, after his family raised the alarm when he failed to return from a fly-fishing trip at the Makarora River mouth.

Danielle Wright experiences cross-country skiing at Wanaka.

A pest control programme on land near Lake Wanaka has eradicated almost 700 pests - including a cat compared in size to a panther - in little more than a year.