Holidaymakers heading back to the grind in the Super City have one thing to smile about tonight, for most, it's a clear run home on the roads.

Swathes of the beach at Waipu Cove in Northland are covered in smelly red algae, blighting the spot's usually pristine golden sand.

A neighbour who tried to save the life of a preschooler hit by a car in a farm driveway near Tokoroa was too distressed later to talk about the fatality.

Police are still appealing for sightings of slain mother of two, Jo Pert, and her alleged attacker.

Opito was worth the journey, even if Eveline Harvey didn't get to sample its scallops.

A man in his 20s is now in a stable condition after being stabbed at a West Auckland address early this morning.

A drink driver who fled police, sparking a chase which left a power pole damaged, now faces being charged the cost to replace it.

A man has had surgery today after he was shot in Hamilton early this morning.

The motorcyclist who lost both legs in a crash with a truck remains critically unwell in Auckland City Hospital.

The woman killed on her morning run through the leafy Auckland suburb of Remuera is being remembered a "kind and gentle person".

Four people have been arrested after they allegedly fled police in a stolen car and crashed into a lamp post while trying to avoid road spikes in Raglan last night.

Two men will appear in the Palmerston North District Court on a number of charges after a high speed chase in the city.

Hutt Valley police have finished their search at a property where a people were seen with firearms yesterday.

An Auckland couple chased down two men who crashed while fleeing from a burglary, and held one down until officers arrived.

A 70-year-old man was winched to safety after injuring his ankle while tramping in the Ruahine Range in Manawatu.

A forbidden driver was caught under the influence and with stolen goods in the car, after several calls from the public about his bad driving.

Maritime police who plucked a one-armed doll from Wellington Harbour are trying to reunite it with its owner.

A man has received critical head injuries after presenting a fake gun at people inside an Auckland home, police say.

"They dragged him out and he collapsed" - Man rescued from rip at Cathedral Cove.

Two North Korean doctors died over the weekend, after they got drunk that their wives injected them with some mystery liquid to counteract the alcohol.

A 30-year-old woman was air lifted to a North Island hospital yesterday after she became tangled in a rope swing.

Police have charged a 22-year-old Northland man with the murder of Lee Rata as they continue to investigate whether others were involved in the fatal attack.

A disabled Gisborne man has been arrested after allegedly deliberately driving into a marae, before attacking a passer by's car and threatening to set himself alight at a petrol station.

A yachtie is helpless to stop opportunist thieves helping themselves to prized possession on board his stricken yacht - 11 days after it ran aground.

An 18-year-old Aucklander who loved sport and kapa haka is the youngest victim of the holiday road toll.

An investigation has been launched into racist comments and allegations of sexual assault at a New Year's Eve beach party in Mount Maunganui.

Firefighters had to rescue an elderly driver after her car crashed through a fence at Auckland shopping mall.

Police say it is unclear how an Auckland man died during a canyoning trip deep in the Coromandel bush.

The woman who survived a horror plunge down an Auckland cliff face along a popular scenic drive suffered broken bones, it has been revealed.

Travellers are being being advised to allow half an hour extra for their journey through Auckland International Airport and customs.