Southland swelters on one its hottest days ever recordedKavinda Herath / StuffInvercargill narrowly edged out Gore as the hottest town in New Zealand on Sunday, in what was a sizzling day of temperatures in Southland. Oreti Beach Surf Lifesavers club captain Samantha Nielsen said the Invercargill beach was having its busiest weekend of the year. At 3pm at Oreti Beach, lifeguard Owen West said he estimated over 1400 people had made their way to the surf. A fire communications spokeswoman said Southland firefighters were attending multiple calls in Gore, Mossburn, and the Awarua Plains. "The fire danger is pretty consistent, it's high across most of Southland, but Western Southland and coastal areas are particularly high.

Source: Stuff January 13, 2018 22:49 UTC