KEY POINTS:
More than 5 million USA Today readers may have voted New Zealand the dream honeymoon destination but for some New Zealanders in 2006, the honeymoon was over.
While many cursed the weather, people in the winterless north had the opposite problem.
Northland
Figures, released by MoleMap, showed melanoma rates had grown 7.5 per cent every year over the past 10 years, with men in Northland 23 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with melanoma than women.
Seeking sheltering from the sun was limited when a Far North brothel shut shortly after it opened.
Dr Neil Benson said he could not attract and retain staff for the brothel in Coopers Beach which he opened in May.
It ran into trouble soon after when staff left unexpectedly and another was sacked for undisclosed reasons.
He said it had been "a fascinating project".
A brothel may have been a good distraction for some as crime statistics released in July showed violent attacks in Northland were up 24 per cent.
Auckland
In Auckland, all reported crime was down 5.7 per cent but violent attacks were also up 13 per cent.
A blackout in Auckland on June 12 , plunging the city, and parts of the South Island into darkness, brought little joy for businesses.
I f you were looking for a sanctuary away from Auckland's darkened and dangerous streets, then the corporate boxes at Eden Park were not it.
More than 300 people developed food-poisoning resulting in nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea from eating the oysters in June.
Caterers ran out of New Zealand-grown oysters and served imported ones, which they believed were safe to eat raw.
Hawke's Bay
Those seeking respite from the oysters were best to avoid the Hawke's Bay, where the sickest people in the country lived.
A November medical report said more people died in the region from breast cancer, strokes and suicide attempts than anywhere else in New Zealand.
Those of a sickly demeanour not wanting to tempt fate by staying in the Hawke's Bay could always head to the Central District, but slowly.
Statistics released in December showed Central District police cost motorists $5.6 million in fines.
More than 46,000 tickets were issued, 11,000 more than the second-most ticketed region.
An average of 26,112 tickets were handed out across the country.
Palmerston North
It may have been people were speeding to get away from Palmerston North.
British comedian John Cleese launched an attack on the town which he described as the suicide capital of New Zealand.
Cleese toured the country last year performing a live show, recording an audio diary of his travels for his website.
"If you wish to kill yourself but lack the courage to, I think a visit to Palmerston North will do the trick," he said on his site in March.
"We had a thoroughly, bloody miserable time there and we were so happy to get out."
Hamilton
Hamilton was not immune either.
In March visiting Australian rugby player Chris Latham blamed tedium for his Super 14 team's poor performance.
At least the visitors were made to feel welcome unlike Tongans in Wanganui.
Wanganui
In September Wanganui's mayor Michael Laws called the late King of Tonga a "bloated, brown slug".
A member of the Tongan royal family who was studying in Wanganui at the time was insulted, along with many others.
Despite an outcry Mr Laws would not back down.
For those not offended, Mr Laws unleashed a total assault sure to capture everyone.
One day after the news the Overlander rail service would be saved, in September, Laws said he would dash through Ohakune wearing only carrot-coloured undies.
He has not yet set a date for his streak, reason enough to keep a wide berth of the town.
Lower North Island
Further south, wet weather pounded the lower North Island leaving some homes clinging to cliff tops after rotten weather gripped the region.
A gas-leak crippled Wellington's CBD for over a week, leaving latte-lovers frothless.
Off-shore wasn't much better.
On March 3, 391 passengers on the interisland ferry Aratere were left rueing the master's decision to cross the Cook Strait in 10m swells and 125km/h winds.
On August 18 a storm brought the lower North Island to a virtual standstill with swells of up to 14.4 metres in the Cook Strait.
Winds of up to 180km/h and heavy rain battered the Wellington region, Wairarapa and Kapiti Coast, ripping up trees, pulling roofs off houses, smashing windows and sending power lines crashing to the ground.
In Wairarapa and Tararua, floods left entire rural communities underwater and caused evacuations.
In the seaside Lower Hutt suburb of Days Bay, a 30-metre high bank gave way, sending rock, mud and trees into two homes.
Christchurch
For those who made it to the Mainland this year, it was wise to go armed with breathing apparatus as Christchurch residents coughed their way through smoggy air in July.
Christchurch experienced a 24-hour average concentration of 171mcg of suspended particulate per cubic metre of air in one night, more than three times the Environment Ministry's acceptable guideline of 50mcg.
Timaru
Further south, Timaru recorded 110mcg, the city's 22nd night of high air pollution this winter.
If you were elderly and suffering side-effects from all that smog, bad luck if you lived in Timaru or Canterbury.
The partner of a GP in South Canterbury, who did not want to be identified, said the practice of closing the books to the elderly was rife.
"Timaru is particularly bad. If you're over 70, chances are you cannot get a GP," she said.
"They say there aren't any, but there are if you're young."
Reading a book as opposed to closing one was the problem for one Timaru GP.
Rosalind Antoinette Charmaine Allen-Narker was nabbed by police on August 28 driving from Timaru to Christchurch Airport while reading a book.
She admitted the offence, saying she bought the book, He'll Be OK: Growing Gorgeous Boys into Good Men by Celia Lashlie, that morning and it was too good to put down.
Queenstown
Meanwhile Queenstown, continued to offer million dollar views, for a price tag of $1.2 million.
Average income earners continued to be squeezed out of the property market in the resort as land prices boomed.
Otago
Apart from Queenstown, travel guide book Lonely Planet found little joy in Central Otago, saying many of the towns were trying to recapture the gold rush glory days, while an abandoned railway track had little to offer.
Rioting students at Otago University brought student behaviour under the microscope again, with the university enforcing a code of conduct to try to harness the wild campus beasts.
Southland
Further south icebergs floating off the coast of Southland was a triumph for environmental doomsayers and a windfall for tourist operators.
- NZPA
