Fewer than half of councils have enough staff trained to respond to marine oil spills.

More preliminary elections results are trickling in from the regions this morning - Kaipara District has a new mayor and the Chatham Islands have re-elected its current mayor.

A message in a bottle found in the Chatham Islands has helped solve the mystery of another letter in a bottle found on Nelson's Boulder Bank more than a decade ago.

Twenty two taiko chicks were hatched from 26 eggs this breeding season, nine more chicks than the previous seasonal record of 13.

Clear sunny days will brighten the weekend, but once the sun sets, prepare for chilly nights, MetService says.

Clare Gleeson shared the lonely and lovely Chatham Island with a handful of tourists.

Chathams' history is as stirring as its winds, while the rugged shoreline of the bay looks like a place where dreams come to die, writes Jim Eagles.

The Government will invest $400,000 into social housing for low-income tenants in the Chatham Islands, Prime Minister John Key has announced.

Jim Eagles goes flora spotting on the wild and windy Chatham Islands.

Magnificent formations on the Chathams deserve their own tales, writes Jim Eagles.

They're almost as rare as hen's teeth, but Jim Eagles finally lands his shark tooth in the Chathams.

NASA has just released this amazing image of phytoplankton bloom around the Chatham Islands.

Jim Eagles enjoys exploring the aviation history of the Chatham Islands.

Beauty, mystery, death and destruction await Jim Eagles when he makes a long-anticipated visit to the Chatham Islands.

Rock and tree carvings exist as the remnants of a past fraught with tragedy in the Chatham Islands.

Jim Eagles reflects on his journey to one of New Zealand's most isolated outposts, the Chatham Islands.

Police say a GPS device could provide vital information about what happened to missing yachtie Paul van Rensburg.

Missing yacht Tafadzwa has been spotted west of the Chatham Islands but with no sign of skipper Paul van Rensburg.

The official warning over a tsunami that threatened the entire east coast of New Zealand today has been downgraded to an advisory, but there is still a threat from ocean surges.