A man narrowly avoided being hit in the head by a falling rock at Franz Josef Glacier and his partner suffered a broken foot after jumping a barrier.

A teenage girl who fought off a shark was lucky the animal only gave her an "exploratory bite", an expert says.

Shark sightings around the country have forced beach closures more than 12 times this summer.

Toxic sea slugs could be living in the waters around New Zealand but money to study them is proving harder to find than the slugs themselves.

A couple who clambered on to the Poor Knights Islands could now face prosecution by the Department of Conservation.

Incidents of tourists hiking in rugged terrain in Jandals and running out of food while out camping have led to the development of a NZ outdoors code.

No one knows why Moko the dolphin prefers humans to his own kind, but everyone in Gisborne - both locals and visitors alike - are delighted he does.

Dave Cade is pushing hard to keep didymo - or rock snot - out of Taupo waterways.

The owner of a seaside stall that locals accuse of spoiling pristine Cathedral Cove says tourists are relieved to see him at the end of a long, hot walk.

Residents and holidaymakers are appalled by a DoC-approved icecream stall operating at Coromandel's Cathedral Cove.

More than 120 whales died over 48 hours in two separate beachings, the Department of Conservation says.