Otago

A 10-year-old girl who was missing in Dunedin has been found safe and well this morning.

A video of a body boarder wildly swinging his board at a New Zealand sea lion at a Dunedin beach reveals ignorance of the threatened species, a DOC biodiversity ranger says.

A 39-year-old woman reported missing in the Queenstown area since 31 December was found safe and well last night.

It's been two-and-a-half years since calls to preserve a fossil treasure trove in Otago were first made, but the site's future remains in question.

Otago University lecturer Jacinta Ruru has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit as she works to make the legal sector more inclusive of tikanga Māori.

Bees are leading the way when it comes to educating locals on the environment in Queenstown.

The National Cherry Spitting Competition trophy is up for grabs on 28 December, despite the competition being scaled back for Covid-19 restrictions.

The Queenstown Lakes is attempting to diversify its economy, with hopes that less than half of its workers will rely on tourism in the long run.

Queenstown Lakes District Council is conducting follow-up testing with results due back tomorrow.

A restricted fire season will come into effect in parts of Otago from this evening.

The Wānaka Yacht Club is concerned collisions will be inevitable on the lake this summer if there is not decent water safety oversight.

Temporary traffic lights will be installed on a Central Otago bridge over the Christmas and New Year period to help manage the predicted spike in users.

Dunedin's sea lion population is poised to have an early Christmas present with the first pups of summer expected to be born from next week.

Otago swimmers are urged to check the latest water quality results before taking the plunge this summer.

The joint venture Southern Cross Central Lakes Hospital will improve access to surgical services in the area and relieve pressure on the public health system.

New exhibitions at the museum will feature real fossils that are millions of years old and life-sized fossil casts up to 13 metres long. Audio

The former gold mining town of Cromwell in Central Otago is experiencing another boom.

'Someone is going to get it' - Those were the chilling words from a man who stabbed four people in a central Dunedin supermarket in May.

A Dunedin man who allegedly threatened people with a knife after he failed to produce a Covid-19 vaccine pass in a central city bar, has been remanded in custody.