The best thing to come out of Auckland's Super City amalgamation is that you can borrow 3.5 million items from 55 libraries from Wellsford to Waiuku. Here we choose our favourite handful.

For a breather from the city, explore the pockets of bush and wetland nestled in suburbia.

For a day of fresh air and fun, golf can't be beat. Graham Hepburn visits Auckland's courses.

Boutique ice cream maker shows that customers are prepared to pay top dollar for quality products.

A witness to a huge street brawl has described how crowds armed with big pieces of wood charged at partygoers at a 21st birthday.

A 22-year-old West Auckland man is in a critical condition following a brawl outside a 21st birthday party.

Catherine Smith talks to a couple who went West and are loving the lifestyle.

Police are hunting an arsonist after a fire gutted a childcare centre in the Auckland suburb of New Lynn yesterday.

A new book documenting New Zealand's restaurant history busts the myth that dining out is a recent Kiwi hobby.

A man shot by police after allegedly presenting an airgun at them last month says he thought he was playing a joke on his brother.

Police have admitted a man they gunned down pointed a stolen air rifle but never fired before they started shooting. And the man's brother says it wasn't loaded.

Shannon Lawson, 38, who was shot by police in west Auckland on Sunday, has been remanded in custody after a brief appearance in court today.

A West Auckland man seriously wounded when police shot him was armed with an air rifle he had allegedly stolen from a neighbour.

A formal police investigation is underway to determine if a man gunned down by police last night fired the first shot.

Robbers tied up a woman shop assistant in a toilet and ransacked a New Lynn store last night.