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.

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

Holidaymakers looking to escape Auckland might want to hit the road sooner than later, transport authorities say.

One person is dead after an incident in the Bay of Islands this morning.

Auckland Transport has confirmed a second Waiheke ferry operator will share a Government subsidy for free travel to and from the island for pensioners.

An Auckland man is thanking two "Christmas angels" who pulled him out of rough swells after he was knocked out of his dinghy today.

Police are searching for a patched gang member after he assaulted a man at at a Masterton address, causing facial injuries.

Properties in Omaha have flooded following a downpour of rain.

A man accused of driving drunk twice in one day said he drove the second time because he was worried about his tools left in his ute.

Passengers aboard an Auckland tourist attraction were grounded in the middle of the Waitemata Harbour today.

The North Island has seen two train deaths today, the latest occurring on the Kapiti Coast, stranding commuters north of Wellington.

After a farmer's security system was triggered, he went to investigate and found a man walking around the area of his fuel pumps.

Police are "astonished and disappointed" a 14-year-old boy has been caught drink-driving in Masterton.