An explosion injured as many as six people last night when a large steel grass roller blew up after it was put on a Mosgiel bonfire.

A man has been arrested after he started a chainsaw during a heated argument at a service station and advanced on another man with the chain running.

The body of a 21-year-old climber who slipped and fell to his death on Mt Aspiring last night has been recovered by a search team.

A father has today admitted abducting his young son from Dunedin and driving away at speeds of up to 170km/h north of Christchurch.

On a scenic flight in the south, Elizabeth Carlson gets into the pilot's seat.

Intrepid trampers or a bunch of softies? Pam Neville puts the case for guided walks.

Pamela Wade finds the unspoiled beauty of New Zealand's southeast is wasted on some.

'It was a wonderful flight, we were having a great time.' An American couple have spoken about the day their scenic Lord of the Rings flight turned deadly.

Two American tourists are now in a stable condition in hospital following a light plane crash in Central Otago yesterday, which claimed the life of the pilot.

The son of a pilot killed in a light plane crash yesterday has paid tribute to his “hero” father’s actions in saving his two passenger’s lives.

A Queenstown man has died at the scene of the light plane crash in the Poolburn area in Central Otago this afternoon, police said.

St John Wakatipu station manager Craig Downing says lives could have been put at risk after someone slashed the tyres of an ambulance overnight on Sunday.

A large vegetation fire in Central Otago has been contained.

This is artist Colin McCahon's "landscape of splendour", writes Elisabeth Easther.

Herald readers recommended a bunch of great Kiwi activities for Warriors fullback Sam Tomkins. We sent him to see the best of Queenstown with competition winner Dave Floyd.

The bra fence in the Cardrona Valley has been ransacked, with hundreds of bras being removed one night last week.

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

Lives were put at risk from couch fires lit too close to houses in Dunedin's student quarter, Dunedin police and the Fire Service have warned.

Peter Feeney finds Dunedin is a supercity minus the sleaze.

A young mother helped stop her former partner - 'psychotic' on synthetic cannabis - from driving her and her child into Otago Harbour.

A police officer was punched in the head by a motorcyclist after a high-speed chase through Dunedin last night.

A Dunedin man has admitted indecently assaulting a 13-year-old girl who was babysitting at a house in Timaru early last year.

An ''outrageous'' initiative will see undercover police officers ''spying on patrons'', Hospitality Association chief executive Bruce Robertson says.

The Invercargill woman charged with keeping too many cats on her city property can be now be named.

Two Dunedin people fear the road is becoming a dangerous place for cyclists following a road-rage incident in the city.