Cycling through Marlborough is picturesque, says Maria Slade, especially when there's wine at the end of the road.

A teacher who crashed her car while brushing her teeth told police she had lost concentration.

A plane carrying 44 people has safely made an emergency landing at Blenheim Airport, despite a nose wheel failure.

A sentence of home detention for a bar owner who killed a patron is a "mockery" to the family, the victim's father says.

Brown muscat and men called Keith share something in common - they don't sound very sexy. Nevertheless, I got hot under the collar about some new brown muscat plantings a few weeks ago.

Roads and vehicles must be "more forgiving" to curb a road toll which averages more than one death a day, the AA says. Figures released by the Ministry of Transport today show 371 people died on the roads over the past year.

Christchurch's Boxing Day aftershocks and the recent wet weather have seen more than 1000 claims lodged with the Earthquake Commission.

Campers fled on foot in darkness at the Pelorus Bridge Camp today as a flood with enough power to lift caravans hit the idyllic holiday spot, 59km northwest of Blenheim.

When Blenheim couple Pat and Pam Heagney heard the jury verdict "guilty" in the High Court at Wellington this afternoon, they dissolved into loud sobs.

New Zealand's road to the 2012 London Olympic begins in Adelaide this weekend at the Oceania track championships.