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.

A person is dead following a house fire in Wanaka overnight.

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.

One of the victims of a 'highly trusted' farm manager jailed for stealing $335k of stock and farm items says he couldn't have acted alone.

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.

A couple have appeared in court after their child was removed from school last April and apparently didn't return for the rest of the year.