The Queenstown.com weekly took a break last Monday, mainly due to the fact that I missed my flight home from Christchurch, and because I was a little under the weather. As per usual, the jibes came in from regular readers calling for this to be the Queenstown.com Bi-weekly, or even monthly, so thanks everyone for your concern and sense of humour. In this edition we briefly talk about the new developments in regards to the skate park, we detail the upcoming frisbee golf tournaments, Queenstown's chances of getting on the world Monopoly board, and we showcase our new webcams.

Dragging on for as long as I've been working for Queenstown.com, if not longer, is the construction on Queenstown's Skatepark. Due to the frustration this has been causing, I decided to ask the council directly for an explanation, as even they seemed unable to convey the facts to the public in a way that was understood. This ordeal has prompted the creation of a new column piece for Queenstown.com where I'll tackle local issues that I'm passionate about. I'll be doing that after I finish this editorial, so watch this space for details. EDIT: Queenstown Skate Park article can be read here.

Anyway, after hassling a Councillor or two, and a straight to the point email that I sent, I managed to get to the bottom of the confusion that had surfaced after it was announced that more money was needed to complete the park. Those details will be elaborated on later today, but in a nutshell, that line of questioning is the sole reason behind the new fundraising push for the completion of the skatepark. A big thanks must go out to Councillor Cath Gilmour for being proactive and organising this.

So far, $7,191 of the required $82,000 has been raised, so giving credit where it is due, the following sponsors have fronted up:

• Bill Torrance Charitable Trust - $5,000
• Nzone - $2,000
• Via Online Donation on Queenstown.com: Uan Spijkerbosh, Sarah McFarland, Andrew Howie, Nathan Howie - $191.15

The online donations are done via PayPal and can be found on the right side of every page on Queenstown.com, just under the member login box. Wakatipu skate club chairman Craig Strong will be keeping tabs on the online donations to keep the process transparent, just to make sure the we don't spend it all on Red Bull.

Moving right along, local frisbee golfers are rejoicing as the annual tournaments head this way. Glenorchy's Paradise Trust Property plays host to the Dart River Jet Safaris Disc Golf Tournament on Saturday the 8th of March, and Queenstown's very own course at the Gardens hosts The Helicopter Line Queenstown Classic Disc Golf Tournament. The improvements made to the Queenstown gardens course look to see the challenge increase due to the extra basket holes, and the painted lines of the post and tree holes. Frisbee golfers from all across New Zealand make the annual journey down here in what always proves to be a fabulous time on two truly scenic courses.

On the competition front, Queenstown has slipped down to number 24 on the World Monopoly Board with only the top 20 being chosen, so please, don't forget to vote and tell all your friends to do so as well. We're now offering 20 minutes of free internet on the computers here at the office for those who vote for Queenstown in front of us. We're also still running our local competition, and those details can be found here.

And lastly before I head off and write my first column, I'd like to take the chance to plug our range of webcams. We now have 5 in place, and they are:

• Barup
• Earnslaw Lodge
• Queenstown.com Office
• Shotover St
• Earnslaw Park

Sponsors for the Shotover St and Earnslaw Park webcams are now being sought, so if you have any queries in regards to the rates, and benefits, please email our marketing and promotion manager, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

That brings this week's edition to a close, so until next week, keep voting for Queenstown, and see if you can donate to the skatepark,

Nathan - Queenstown.com Editor.