UPDATED 8:09pm: A quake initially registering 6.0 has hit the far south.

A Richter scale measurement indicating the severity of the 6.0 quake and where it was felt - EQNZ

GeoNet says the magnitude 5.8 quake hit at 2:30pm, 30 kilometres north-west of Wanaka.

It was only five kilometres deep.

MORE: Annabel Langbein feels the quake in Wanaka

Southern Police say they've only had a couple of reports of damage, including broken glass.

One after shock has already struck the area, with a magnitude 3.5 striking at around 2:40pm. It was centred at a similar spot to the big one.

Geonet's duty seismologist Caroline Holden says it was a good sized earthquake.

"It's a good size earth - a magnitude 6, but it was still centred 30km away from Wanaka, so the shaking decreased quite rapidly."

• Annabel Langbein: Quake felt in Wanaka

Mt Aspiring Road will remain closed tonight due to the risk of rockfall after today's Wanaka earthquake.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council says the road is closed at Glen Finnon bluff.

CEO Adam Feeley says contractors will carry out an aerial inspection tomorrow morning.

He says the Arrowtown hall has also been closed as a precaution.

Engineers will inspect the hall tomorrow.

The inspection of other public buildings is also continuing.

So far, inspections of critical infrastructure across the district has confirmed no damage.

Wanaka: 

Wanaka has managed to escaped relatively unscathed after a severe earthquake.

Police say there have only been a small number of broken windows and no major reported incidents.

A number of bottles have fallen from the shelves at Wanaka New World, the resort's only supermarket.

However staff say there's little significant damage and there are no plans to close the store.

Marty works in an art studio in the Wanaka CBD. He has reported paintings fell off the walls and turpentine went everywhere, but that was the extent of the damage.

"It's all fine. Everyone just ran outside for a little bit. There was a bit of swearing going on and what-not, and just going 'aw yeah - right, let's go back to work'."

Queenstown:

It may be some time before the Queenstown Lakes District Council can give the all clear to its roading and infrastructure, following this afternoon's earthquake.

Emergency services have only received minor reports of damage.

Queenstown Lakes District Council spokesperson Michele Poole points out that with many rural roads across the region, they've got plenty of work ahead of them.

"We're going to be checking those in more detail, but at the moment there are no issues and from what I can see, where I am, life is continuing very much as normal.

"The reports that we're getting so far is that there was no damage, no injuries, all the critical infrastructure is operating."

Queenstown Lakes Deputy Mayor Lyall Cocks was at the golf club in Wanaka when it hit.

"There's no obvious damage, there's no poles down or nothing like that.

"Like I say, it was a rolling earthquake."

Cocks says he's just about to head into town to see if there's any damage.

John phoned in to Newstalk ZB, and said the sound of the quake hit them before the shake.

"We heard it before we felt it. We heard the sound of the reverberations around the hills and the mountains and then we felt it.

"It went on for quite a few seconds."

Caller Brian in Queenstown told Newstalk ZB the earthquake was both forceful and noisy.

"The whole house started shaking away there. I didn't actually hear it, but my wife said there was a big rumble."

Ashburton:

Meanwhile, it was an odd experience for Newstalk ZB's Chris Diack in Ashburton.

"I was on the phone to somebody in Gore at the same time, and within about 30 seconds of us having a wobble here in Alex, we had somebody down in Gore who who was sitting in a truck who was feeling exactly the same thing.

"So I can only assume that it was working its way down the country."

Dunedin:

Reporter Adam Walker is in Dunedin and has informed our newsroom it lasted for about 30 to 40 seconds, with the building he's in shaking rigorously.

"Looking across the road to the police station, that also shook. It wasn't one of the ones where you could hear it rolling and shaking in, it was quite a gradual roll. but it kept on going for quite some time."

Lake Hawea: 

NewstalkZB listener Gay in Lake Hawea told Danny Watson the quake had sizeable force.

"I was inside and my husband was outside and he's got a Tarano truck and he said it actually jumped up and down on the cobblestones out there."

Mosgiel:

Ted phone in to Newstalk ZB, reporting Mosgiel felt a rolling quake.

"It was a nice one. it wasn't a shake, it was a roll."