Crashes around North Island roads have kept emergency crews busy overnight and this morning.

The four sought-after suburbs have robust transport links, well-planned infrastructure and attractive entertainment hubs.

Police were unsure how the diver got into trouble, but confirmed he was in a serious condition.

The victim of a brutal New Year's Eve assault, who died in Whangarei Hospital yesterday, was Kaitaia man Lee Rata.

Kelly Lynch soaks up the old-world feeling in Waipu's ancient caves.

A woman confronted and scared off two burglars who broke into her house.

The single-car crash happened on State Highway 35, near Tologa Bay.

Patricia Greig has a fairy tale stay at a luxury country house near Tauranga.

Two people rushed to hospital from an Auckland brothel this morning are believed to have ingested the drug GHB, police say.

Severe weather will hit New Zealand's holiday hot spots today, prompting warnings campers may need to make a fast exit.

Creatures died after becoming entangled in set-net.

Emergency services are at the scene on the Northern Motorway and the Waitemata Serious Crash Unit has arrived.

Wellington City Council posted a picture of the smashed Moai sculpture on its Facebook page.

Bronze whaler caused concern at Coromandel's Whiritoa Beach.

Firefighters turned Animal Rescue crew when they were called out to free a cat stuck in a washing machine.

Emergency services in Whangarei last night controlled a large scrub fire that threatened properties in a coastal community.

Thieves have stolen from lifeguards in the Far North while they were out to help a kayaker who was struggling in the water.

Police are seeking a man who held up a Waikato bar with a cut down shotgun.

A teenager is in a serious but stable condition after her car was hit by a ute and spun into a station wagon near Paihia yesterday.

A man who dislocated his hip on Mt Ruapehu this morning was flown to hospital.

Firefighters undertook a "delicate operation" at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital this morning.

Happy campers danced, flocked and shopped in Gisborne sunshine on the first day of the Rhythm and Vines music festival.

Police are appealing for witnesses after a man fell from an apartment building on Greys Ave early on Monday morning.

A man who broke into a South Auckland house knocked a newborn baby out of a bassinet onto the floor as he fled after being caught in the act.

Police are seeking a man in relation to a serious assault on a 63-year-old woman in Naenae last night.

The Rhythm and Vines festival kicked off in Gisborne yesterday with major changes to alcohol policy after riots broke out last year.

The motorcyclist who died after hitting a fence yesterday afternoon was riding with a group that included his family and friends.

Two teenage girls had to be rescued from the Manukau Harbour after drifting 1.5km off-shore on an inflatable swan.

A candlelight vigil has been held at Castlecliff Beach for teenager Jordan James Marshall who drowned there on Christmas Day.

Festival-goers are packing into the Rhythm and Vines site, getting ready for the rural New Year festival.