A whale that washed up last week around 40km north of Muriwai beach on Auckland's west coast will be left to rot, the Department of Conservation says.

White string across the Coromandel's iconic Cathedral Cove rock archway has failed to stop visitors from posing for photos.

When Mandy Hague went to White Island to count seals, she had no idea she would get a photo of a mako shark leaping from the water.

Visitors heading for Cathedral Cove on the Coromandel this year should take care when walking through the cove's iconic archway, the Department of Conservation (DOC) warned today.

Calls from the public about a mass seal slaughter near Kaikoura are drying up, while the killers remain at large.

A proposal to put the iconic New Chums Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula into public ownership through a private-public deal is being considered by the Department of Conservation.

Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn is calling for Pike River to be made into an opencast coal mine, amid efforts to keep the 114 skilled miners made redundant today on the West Coast.

Tiritiri Matangi, a 75-minute ferry ride from central Auckland, is a brilliant conservation success story.

The second death in two years at a popular marine reserve has prompted calls for lifeguard patrols.

The slaughter of 23 seals on the Kaikoura coast last week has prompted debate on whether seals need to be culled in the area.

DoC is following up leads on who carried out the brutal clubbing of 23 fur seals near Kaikoura last week.