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 large scrub fire in the Northland seaside settlement of Tutukaka has officially been brought under control after initially threatening homes.

A cyclist has been seriously injured after falling down a 10m bank from his bicycle in Taupo today.

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.

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.

The body recovered from the surf at Mt Maunganui has been identified as belonging to a young Nepalese man.

A flying stingray was not quite how an Auckland teenager thought his lazy Sunday paddleboard would end.

"It was literally just headed straight for my head"- A woman accidentally loosened a massive boulder which then tumbled towards her fiance.

A man had a lucky escape today when he was struck by a boulder estimated to weigh up to 100kg on Mt Ngauruhoe.

The body of a foreign 22-year-old male was recovered from the surf at Mt Maunganui this morning.

Two beach-goers who got into trouble in the water were flown to hospital yesterday evening.

The whare kai, or cooking house, at Waikare Marae went up in flames around 6pm.

A man had a close call in the water near Mangere Bridge, Auckland, this afternoon.

A man was rescued from a forest near Mount Tongariro yesterday after his vehicle got stuck while he was out exploring.

Police nabbed a "well known criminal" trying to break into cars at an Auckland supermarket after tracking him on their CCTV cameras.

A Tauranga man was stretched out in pain on the deck of his boat after he was stung by a jellyfish while diving.

The toddler who drowned on Christmas Day had been missing for more than an hour before friends and family noticed he was gone, according to reports.

A Tauranga fisherman has captured the dramatic moment a 3-metre shark leapt frighteningly close to his boat.

Auckland Police want to locate 29 year-old John Fisiitalia in connection with an aggravated robbery incident.

Two people have been rushed to hospital after Boxing Day animal attacks - including a 14-year-old girl in Northland and a Waikato farmer.

A man spent Christmas night in pain after falling off a quad bike yesterday evening, rescue helicopter staff say.