An adventure holiday in the Colombian forest is an exhilarating experience, writes Christopher Adams, as he reflects on a few bumps and bruises.

As more Kiwis look to South America for adventure, Karen Phelps compiles a bucket list for the continent.

The smile on John Key's face widened as broad as the sombrero that Juan Manuel Santos had just given him, when the Colombian President said, "We would love to have an FTA with New Zealand when they are ready to start negotiations."

After two long days without a single silly photo on his Latin American trade tour, Prime Minister John Key has broken the drought by donning a vueltiao.

Prime Minister John Key begins the second leg of his Latin American tour today, stopping off in Bogota for a historic visit - the first by a New Zealand leader to Colombia.

When Prime Minister John Key lands in Mexico tomorrow it will have been more than a decade since the last New Zealand prime minister toured Latin America, and he concedes the region has been neglected in favour of Asian economies.

Tourists can now wander freely around the former mansion of infamous cocaine trafficker Pablo Escobar, writes Amy Rosenfeld.

This town of 11,000 people, about two hours' drive from Medellín, is home to a huge hydro-electric dam and was the former holiday playground of infamous Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar, whose crumbling mansion in the area is now a drawcard for tourists.

A quick hit of the biggest international stories that you mught have missed today.

New Zealand have made a positive start to the men's under-20 soccer World Cup with a 1-1 draw against Cameroon.

Despite weather extremes, an Auckland climate scientist is unconvinced about the role of human-induced global warming.

Charlie Sheen has been dumped by his girlfriend Natalie Kenly.

Japan's biggest quake since records began triggered a shocking 10m tsunami. See how the quake ranks in history.

New Zealand cyclist Alison Shanks won the individual pursuit to claim her second gold medal at the World Cup track meet in Colombia today.

The New Zealand women's team pursuit haves made an outstanding start to the latest World Cup track cycling meet in Colombia.

Being British, beaches didn't give me much to shout about in my formative years.

The first man to walk the entire length of the Amazon river put his NZ-made backpacks through some serious paces.