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 Martin Jetpack will get its first NZ public outing as a flying aeronautical wonder during the Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow.

A chef in a South Island tourist hot spot worked for around 60 hours per week and received about $1800 per month, some $660 less than he should have.

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.

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.

All systems are go for the launch from Wanaka Airport this morning of Nasa's heavy-lift super pressure balloon.

Tributes are flowing in today for two of New Zealand's most experienced Cessna pilots who died in a horror crash that also claimed the lives of their two children.

Four bodies - believed to be from the same family - were last night recovered from the wreckage of a light aircraft near Wanaka.

Police have recovered four bodies from a light plane that crashed near Wanaka.

Aballoon the size of Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium is scheduled to lift off above the scenic Central Otago town of Wanaka on Tueday and float 34km into space.

The wife of Steve Combe, the Wanaka pilot killed in a helicopter crash, says her husband was 'larger than life'.

The death of two tourists whose campervan was swept away in a slip was the result of a "tragic coming together of a number of events", a coroner has found.

Police have found a sleeping bag and other items believed to belong to missing climber Simon Bell.

As search efforts continue, police are piecing together the last known whereabouts of missing climber Simon Bell.

A mountaineer aiming to conquer a record 100 NZ peaks - and who once saved a companion's life in a daring rescue - is missing in Mt Aspiring National Park.