Department of Conservation

By GUY WILLIAMS Tourism workers are getting stuck into building a new mountain bike trail near Lakes Hayes Estate. The 1.2km loop track, the brainchild of Lake Hayes Estate and Shotover Country Community Association committee members Debbie Townsend and Jenny Carter,...

By GUY WILLIAMS The long-term survival of Queenstown’s only wildlife park looks more assured after a financial lifeline from the government. The Kiwi Birdlife Park on Brecon Street is one of 28 similar facilities around the country that’ll get a slice...

By TRACEY ROXBURGH Queenstown Mountain Bike Club’s about to put its foot down — and it’s got some serious firepower behind it. New Zealand tech entrepreneur and Xero co-founder Rod Drury says he decided a while ago to get back into...

By MATTHEW MCKEW NZSki's said ‘thanks, but no thanks’ to the government after being offered just $500,000 of the $2.7 million it asked for. Chief executive Paul Anderson says the company behind Coronet Peak, The Remarks and Mt Hutt’s ‘‘grateful’’ but ‘‘respectfully declined’’...

By MATTHEW MCKEW IT’S finally ready. Two years after NZSki first pitched a multi-million dollar replacement Sugar Bowl chairlift, it’ll be cranking into action this morning. The project at The Remarks was hampered a few times, first when seeking approval from Department...

By TRACEY ROXBURGH A Queenstown aviator's invention is tantalisingly close to becoming certified by Civil Aviation Authority, to become an official data recorder. Over The Top helicopter boss Louisa 'Choppy' Patterson came up with the idea for 'Eye In The Sky' after...

By GUY WILLIAMS A consortium of predator control and conservation groups is working on an ambitious project to eradicate and intensively control predators across a massive swathe of country between Queenstown and Hawea. An independent study it commissioned concludes a 'Southern Lakes...

By PHILIP CHANDLER WHETHER related to the Covid-19-imposed human lockdown or not, a rare waterbird's turned up in Queenstown. Local Jane Taylor spotted a distinctive royal spoonbird (kotuku ngutupapa) on the wetlands at the south end of Lake Hayes last Sunday, photographing...

The Shotover Moonlight Mountain Marathon continues to be a major drawcard, with more than 600 entrants ready to hit the trails tomorrow. Organised by Ben Lomond Station owners the Foster family, the Queenstown event's now in its ninth year, and...

Outdoor recreation clubs aren't happy at the prospect of $10 per vehicle to drive up The Remarkables road over summer. The road's owned by NZSki which announced on Tuesday it'll introduce the toll from February 3. New Zealand Alpine Club GM...

Department of Conservation's dithering over a loo on Ben Lomond as the shit literally keeps piling up. More than 30,000 people a year are walking the trail up the 1748m mountain behind Queenstown. As the hordes increase, the area's becoming increasingly...

NZSki's still waiting on the Department of Conservation (DoC) to make a decision on its 40-year concession application for Coronet Peak, which includes a long-term plan to install a 'snow factory' . But it's been given the green light for...