By Kelly Hertzog

There's a familiar old saying ,"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" and it seems to be the rule of thumb this winter in Queenstown. Locals will be well used to the influx of die-hard party-goers Queenstown sees every winter, and this season is no different. Perhaps it's the abundance of snow or the perfect, blue-sky days that seem to go on forever, but something has the locals enjoying the spirit of the silly season like they haven't done for years. The excitement of winter is infectious and everyone is feeling social, every night of the week...

By Michelle Duff

This time of the year in Queenstown the atmosphere is almost tangible. The air tingles with it; if anticipation was a taste, it would be hard to get the flavour of it out of your mouth. Every new dusting of snow on the Remarkables brings a fresh wave of thrill seekers to Central Otago, and a sparkle to the eyes and spring in the step of local residents that may not have been evident a few months previously. Gloves and boots discarded in the back of mouldy old closets are dragged out and prepared for another seasons hammering on the slopes. Snowboards are waxed,...

By Daryl Holden

HE really was just a boy, a month short of his 18th birthday and he was living his dream.

David Partington was in the New Zealand Army, his confidence had soared from being in the force and he was hoping to work his way to an overseas posting but on February 23 last year the dream ended in the Kawarau River, near Cromwell.

By Michele Bremner

Total pandemonium was the tune that backed this years Top Bloke finale held at the aptly named Memorial Hall Sunday night.

Twenty four nervous Top Bloke hopefuls strutted their stuff to the deafening rumble of hoots, whistles and the occasional unsportly boo as they bared more than was bargained for to judges and onlookers.

By Kelly Hertzog

Any person who has been into a bar, club or place of public drinking will acknowledge that these can be dangerous places. When you combine large amounts of people with large amounts of alcohol it is inevitable that situations of conflict will arise. Queenstown is no exception to this rule of common sense. Security staff are put in place to help maintain a safe night-time environment, but do they? It seems there are all too many bouncers who use their job as a means of releasing their aggression. The often brutish behaviour displayed by Queenstown security staff...