Photo: suppliedDunedin para-ice swimmer Francois Lambrechts has secured a trifecta of Guinness World Records. The local athlete has been officially recognised for his 1km and 500m para-ice swims undertaken in 2024, in addition to his existing para-ice mile record. Lambrechts said the 500m record was previously held by his ice swimming friend Marc Boutin. New Zealand athletes hold several International Ice Swimming Association world records. While ice swimming was not recognised as an Olympic sport at present, he was hopeful that it would be in the future.

Queenstown Bike Fest co-organiser Emmerson Wilken has a go at the log race during the 2024 event. PHOTO: ODT FILESStarting tomorrow, Queenstown Bike Festival is back full noise after the brakes went on last year. Co-organiser Emmerson Wilken says in ’24 they decided to run the 10-day fest every two years, so last year they only held the still full-on three-day McGazza Fest. Though many of the bike fest’s highlights are during McGazza Fest — from next Friday till Sunday — the first seven days are also jam-packed. scoop@scene.co.nz● The bike fest programme’s at queenstownbikefestival.co.nz; more on McGazza Fest in next week’s Mountain Scene.

PHOTO: ODT FILESIt's still summer, but Queenstown’s about to host 43 games of competitive ice hockey. This year there are six A grade teams, eight B grade teams and three from a new C grade. Organiser Colin McIntosh says the new grade "opens it up to the players who were wishing they were on the ice the previous years, but weren’t quite at the level". "The rosters look stacked with talent and every game in every grade is going to be competitive and impactful on the final standings," McIntosh says. All games are free to watch at the Queenstown Ice Arena — the A grade final’s at 12pm on January 25.

During the holidays I came across an interesting article published on September 20, 2019 by One Earth on sciencedirect.com entitled "Re-defining Sustainability: Living in Harmony with Life on Earth". Instead of simply trying to reduce harm, sustainability must mean living in harmony with all life, recognising that we are part of Earth’s living system, not its masters. What does living in harmony with all life mean? It simply means living with the Earth with respect and co-operation rather than control and exploitation. For example:Farmers can learn more about treating soil and biodiversity as living systems that support their families, stock, and livelihoods, rather than inputs to be used up.

The slip in the Dart Valley. PHOTO: ODT FILESA slip on a section of track in the Dart Valley has severed the popular Rees-Dart tramping circuit for the second time in 11 years. Department of Conservation (DoC) Whakatipu operations manager David Butt says the slip’s opposite Slip Stream, about two hours’ walk from the road end north of Paradise. Trampers can still access the upper Dart Valley by walking from the Rees Valley road end, or by walking the challenging Cascade Saddle route from the Matukituki Valley. They can also walk from Chinaman’s carpark at the Dart Valley road end as far as the closed section before returning.

Mark ‘Horse’ Schultz, left, and Craig ‘Ferg’ Ferguson reunited in Queenstown this week after the latter determined to find his old mate whom he’d pledged to drink this bottle with, 30-plus years ago. PHOTO: ODT FILESIn October 1995, Queenstowner Craig ‘Ferg’ Ferguson, then a part-time coach driver, had a long session on the wines with fellow driver Mark ‘Horse’ Schultz, whom he’d bump into around the country. Ferguson says every few years he’d see the bottle gathering dust then try without success to locate Schultz online. The old mates caught up by phone and then, this week, in person, along with the undrunk bottle of wine — Schultz was visiting Queenstown before walking the Greenstone Track. Schultz, 60, tells Ferguson, 67: "I remember you vividly writing [the date] on the label.

Recently-deceased Maureen Thomson in Queenstown with her second husband, the late Bill Thomson. Before moving to Christchurch in about 1996, Nelson-raised Maureen Thomson lived in Queenstown for about 25 years after earlier stints in Invercargill and Alexandra. For a long time she brought up six children — Dale, Desley, Sandra, Tony, Glen and Craig — by herself after her first husband, Bill Smith, left her. Her community work included making weekly lunches for Senior Citizens Association members and organising entertainment for children, and she was also a carer for much-loved doctor’s widow, Molly Anderson, who lived to 103. Maureen was one of the first local people awarded a civic honour in ’93 for her voluntary community service.

Wakatipu High School. PHOTO: ODT FILESSix more talented Wakatipu High School students have been given Kate Moetaua Foundation scholarships, which continue the legacy of the much-loved WHS teacher, who died in 2018. Kate’s daughter Anika says the calibre of applicants for the 2025 scholarships was "outstanding" and this year’s recipients are "exceptional". Winners last year in sport are Katie Battrick (hockey), Hugo Bogue (cricket) and Charlie Manser (rowing). In the arts, recipients are Lena Ibe (dance), Haru Kuroe (music) and Joe Leyden (musical theatre).

From left, event convener Linley Carter, winner Joel Hasselman and Frankton brigade senior station officer Paul Halstead, whose brigade was the fundraising tournament’s main beneficiary. PHOTO: ODT FILESConsidering last Sunday’s 36th Altrusa International Queenstown Charity Golf Tournament mostly fundraised for the Frankton volunteer fire brigade, there couldn’t have been a more fitting winner. The overall winner, at Queenstown Golf Club’s Kelvin Heights course, was Frankton Golf Centre teaching pro Joel Hasselman, who’s hugely appreciative of the brigade’s efforts in putting out the fire which gutted its pro shop last month. Over the years the Altrusa tournament’s raised $200,000-plus for many local causes. Attracting a field of almost 100 players in challenging weather, Sunday’s tournament raised at least $12,000 for the brigade, and also a donation to junior golf’s Futures Whakatipu programme.

from left, John Sanders, Kate Hamilton, and Bruce Patton. Sanders, 71, has been involved on and off for about 50 years and latterly provides about half of the sheep on display every year. He says his life membership’s also a credit to his late wife Mary-Liz Ford-Sanders whose experience in A&P shows stretched back to her days in Australia where she was a life member in Ballarat. He also donated a trophy in the wool tent in memory of his wife this year. "Now we’ve got to find people to step into that sheep role, otherwise we’ll lose that and it will be a devastating situation."

The new luxury Queenstown spa, 'The Bathhouse'. PHOTO: ODT FILESThe Aussie company behind a new luxury Queenstown spa called The Bathhouse appears to be defying a judge’s ruling to slightly rejig its name to avoid possible confusion with a local restaurant of the same name. Parties behind the latter sought a High Court ruling to get the Aussies to rename their spa to avoid misleading consumers. In her ruling last month, Justice Melanie Harland instead allowed them to keep the bathhouse name as long as they immediately changed the trading and marketing name to ‘The Bathhouse Spa Queenstown’. To be fair, the Aussies changed their name on Facebook but as of this week the signs on their Brecon St premises read only ‘Bathhouse’ or ‘The Bathhouse’.

Wakatipu Plunket’s Tanya Moffat is pictured with local Mitre 10 Mega GM Paul Jackson and the playhouse built by Women’s Shed which is being donated by Mitre 10 to Plunket’s Arrowtown facility. PHOTO: TRACEY ROXBURGHCountless Whakatipu children for years to come will benefit from a special gift from the Whakatipu’s Mitre 10 Mega. Late last year, the Brookes Rd store marked their 10th birthday with a community celebration, at which Women’s Shed Queenstown founder Alex van Dam and Hannah Covington built a playhouse from materials supplied by Mitre 10. The store then called for nominations from the community to find a home for the playhouse, which has been built to last. "They do such amazing work in the community, and lots of kids will get to use it."

PHOTO: ODT FILESPoor communication and "mixed messaging" is behind Queenstown Medical Centre’s (QMC) decision to dump beleaguered patient portal provider Manage My Health (MMH), CEO Ashley Light says. Meanwhile, QMC is sharing all the information it receives on the unfolding situation on its website. Patients can check whether their personal data has been affected by logging into the MMH app or website, he says. "We’re leaving it up to patients to make their own decision on that, we can’t do that on their behalf." Live medical records, GP notes, specialist referral documents, prescriptions, secure messaging and appointment systems were not accessed or affected, the company says.

Photo: RNZForensic experts are spending a second day examining a house in the Auckland suburb of Onehunga where a man was shot. Police were called to the property on Arthur Street late on Friday morning following reports that several people had arrived at a house and fired shots. Detective Senior Sergeant Matt Bunce said a man was in a critical condition in hospital. Det Snr Sgt Bunce told The New Zealand Herald investigators were urgently working to identify and locate those involved. “Several people arrived at a residential address and discharged firearms at the front of the house, and the victim has been struck as a result of this,” Bunce told the Herald.

The third youngest finalist in the modern history of the men's ASB Classic wants to put his name alongside the greats. Czech 20-year-old Jakub Mensik will face seventh-seed Sebastian Baez in the final from 2pm. NZ Herald Sports Journalist Michael Burgess joined D’Arcy to preview the finals. LISTEN ABOVE