Turning a blind eye while your child walks to the town centre carrying alcohol might not be the wisest financial move for parents this year. Wānaka Police have said they will fine parents up to $2,000 for supplying underage teenagers with alcohol, then...... Read More

Niamh Shaw comes from Ireland and through a convoluted route has ended up a councillor on the Queenstown Lakes District Council. The Wānaka Sun talks to her on how she ended up in Wānaka and what drives her as a councillor. Early days. I met my Kiwi...... Read More

Wānaka Primary student Hannah Radford (11) was last week awarded a BLAKE Young Leader Award for her enthusiasm, dedication and commitment to her peers and the natural world. Sir Peter Blake was a New Zealand leader, explorer, and environmentalist. The...... Read More

Almost 6km of ribbon and 2km of fabric - that’s what it takes to make a Merry Waste Free Christmas, as Emma Conyngham has discovered. Three Christmases ago, rebelling against the vast amounts of post-Christmas waste - and the fact that the vast...... Read More

The Otago Regional Council (ORC) is once more taking to the skies for a bird’s eye view on land use in the region this week, to monitor for land disturbance from forestry and land developments. ORC Manager Compliance Tami Sargeant said the flights...... Read More

Wānaka Primary School (WPS) has won this year’s Erik's Fish and Chips Reading Award - and chosen to donate the winnings to the Wānaka Food Bank. The reading challenge started last year to incentivize children in the Upper Clutha and Queenstown...... Read More

Timing for the build of the new Luggate Hall has slipped back somewhat. The construction of the hall, due to start this year, will now not begin until the end of February 2021, according to Graham Perkins, Chairman of the Luggate Community Association. Basically,...... Read More

The Rob Roy Glacier track should be open early next year. The track was closed back in July 2020 when the Department of Conservation (DOC) discovered a slip had undercut the route. There is a contractor working on the track at the moment although the...... Read More

The health of  Lake Wanaka and surrounding waterways had a reprieve at a full council meeting last Thursday. Deputy Mayor Calum MacLeod gained the approval of the Council to develop a policy relating to the monitoring of freshwater bodies and that...... Read More

Otago Regional Council is to receive over $6m in funding for wilding conifer and wallaby control this year. The funding from Biosecurity New Zealand is part of an accelerated investment in jobs for nature, particularly in the Queenstown Lakes area. The...... Read More