Lake Wakatipu

By GUY WILLIAMS The Glenorchy Community Association’s hoping to nab $700,000 in Jobs for Nature funding for a project designed to address the township’s wellbeing issues as well as its biodiversity goals. If the application’s successful, the ‘Glenorchy Eastern Biodiversity Corridor’...

By PHILIP CHANDLER Highly-respected Ngai Tahu elder Sir Tipene O’Regan says it’s time Queenstowners put an ‘h’ in ‘Wakatipu’. ‘Whakatipu’ is the undisputed traditional Maori spelling, however ‘Wakatipu’ has been employed since early European days and pops up in everything from...

In a milestone that flew under the radar, Queenstown’s NZONE Skydive — currently in a tailspin due to border closures — recently turned 30. Original co-owner and general manager Robynne Williams and current gm Clark ‘Scotty’ Scott reflect on...

By PHILIP CHANDLER Otago Regional Council’s investigating a major sewage spill into Lake Wakatipu last Friday. It’s believed tens of thousands of litres of raw, untreated sewage poured into the lake after a bung ‘‘let go’’ in a pipeline above the Frankton...

By MATTHEW MCKEW Another gondola, this one running parallel to Shotover Bridge, and a new hospital, are two new ideas contained in the Frankton Masterplan discussed yesterday by City Hall. Released on Monday, the document details a council spend of $83...

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 PHILIP CHANDLER Queenstowners and visitors can now dine out on the resort’s rich maritime history. Named after an early paddlesteamer, The Mountaineer Room has opened as an annex to The Boat Shed cafe by the Frankton marina. It’s the work of...

By GUY WILLIAMS University of Otago’s applied for consent to build a $12 million retreat for academics near Queenstown’s Jack’s Point, but is backing off a plan to build it by the end of next year. Calling it one of the...

By PHILIP CHANDLER After 18 years in Fiordland, a boat built for Queenstown’s Lake Wakatipu in 1912 is gracing her home waters again. A classic wooden launch, The Lion was officially relaunched in Kingston last Saturday by local mayor Jim Boult. Then on...

By GUY WILLIAMS An Australian businessman charged with fraud is behind plans to build a 17-room high-end hotel on a prime lakefront site close to Queenstown’s CBD. Bumbles Holdings Ltd has applied for consent to build the five-storey Bumbles Hotel on...

By PHILIP CHANDLER A book about Queenstown like no other was one of two launched in town last week by a leading New Zealand photographer. When he moved into a Queenstown Hill home in 2009, Mike Langford vowed to shoot the...

By GUY WILLIAMS The transformation of the Frankton Motor Camp into a camping-only facility has been delayed by ... you guessed it, Covid-19. Work to clear the old cabins and caravans from the lakeside land began in March, before the lockdown began,...