Latest fromDepartment of Conservation
James Griffin: Beware concert-going bunnies
A couple of weeks ago on television, there was an Australian tele-movie full of Kiwi actors, called Panic at Rock Island.
Fears whales could restrand
DOC says the longer a refloated pod of whales are in deep water the better the chances they will not restrand
Stranded whale pod reunites after refloating
About 70 pilot whales which became stranded at the top of the South Island have made it to deeper water.
Pilot whales restranded
A group of pilot whales appears to have beached once more on Farewell Spit, at the top of the South Island.
Stranded whales swim off on high tide
A pod of 66 pilot whales beached west of Nelson yesterday swam off on the high tide overnight, DOC says.
Coromandel: A trail of fun
Bronwyn Sell enjoys a girls' weekend away with a difference - a walk and wine in the Coromandel's Kauaeranga Valley.
NZ's forests second most endangered in world
NZ's forest ecosystems are the second most threatened in the world and house only 5 per cent of their original habitat, according to an international report.
Trouble in campground paradise
Is the Kiwi love affair with roughing it going through a tough patch? Lisa Bradley reports.
The Wellington to stand guard for Auckland regatta
Every year a Navy ship is selected to lead the Auckland Anniversary Regatta. Loaded with VIPs and Navy crew, the vessel becomes the guard ship for the regatta and is the platform from which races are started.
Beaten seal pup put down
A baby seal which was attacked in West Auckland on Monday night has been put down.
Charges to be laid over seal beating
The Department of Conservation has confirmed it will lay charges over a brutal attack on a baby seal in a west Auckland stream. Two men were allegedly seen bashing the mammal with a boat oar last night.
Beaten baby seal taken to Auckland Zoo
Department of Conservation officers say they are "saddened" by what appears to be a brutal attack on a baby seal.
Auckland from A to Z
If you've run out of ideas to keep yourself busy these holidays Julie Harries has a novel idea guaranteed to get the suggestions flowing.
<i>John Roughan</i>: Paradise for a very fortunate few
In principle the Conservation Department wants as many of the public as possible to enjoy the estate their taxation maintains. In practice, it is not very good at making that possible.
DOC puts stranded whales out of misery
DOC staff have killed 10 pilot whales which survived the stranding of a pod of 24 in Parengarenga harbour in the Far North.
Waitomo loos foul image for tourists
A set of "absolutely disgusting" toilets at the entrance to one of New Zealand's best short walks has drawn complaints that they are a blight on tourism.
Don't create canvas towns, says Labour
Handing Department of Conservation campgrounds to private companies to run will turn them into "canvas subdivisions", says Labour's tourism spokesman Kelvin Davis.
Campers fear DoC deals
DoC is in talks about handing over camping grounds to private companies to run them at a profit.
Under the volcanoes
Auckland is home to more than 50 volcanic cones and craters. Diana Clement explores just a few.
Call for compromise in Coromandel beach dispute
A row over developing Coromandel's Kennedy Bay could be solved by the sort of compromise proposed for nearby New Chums, one of the parties says.
Four whales die but one saved
Four whales stranded at Port Waikato yesterday are to be buried in sand dunes just metres from where they lay.
Pike River: Recovery op abandoned
Police Commissioner Howard Broad has announced police are all but giving up hope of recovering the remains of the 29 Pike River miners.
Four whales die in Port Waikato stranding
Four adult whales have died after beaching themselves at Port Waikato but Conservation Department staff have successfully refloated a fifth.