Don't let the morning cloud fool you - it is set to be a fine Boxing Day for New Zealanders, with Central Otago tipped as the best place to be.

Queenstown and Wanaka are expected to be the hottest.

What will start out as a cloudy morning for most of the country should clear as the Christmas day wears on, but the odd shower is in store too.

Keep an eye on traffic conditions as they unfold through the Herald's live blog.

Here is a list of traffic hot spot areas to avoid.

Northland's amazing run of Lotto success has continued with a ticket sold in Wellsford winning $5.3 million on Wednesday. The ticket

Wet weather today will clear throughout the country making way for a mainly fine Christmas weekend.

A group of endangered New Zealand dotterels have begun nesting at a Piha site where the tiny native birds' biggest threat - dogs - are allowed to roam off-leash during the day.

A Northlander has been sent to jail for carrying out a violent home invasion and assaulting its owner in retribution for perceived

The luxurious Helena Bay Lodge in Northland has been named the world's best new hotel.

A fire that burnt a shed and threatened a house before spreading into scrub in Northland was quickly brought under control by helicopters. Firefighters

Hamilton police are searching for a 3-year-old boy who went missing this evening.

KiwiRail has announced it will replace its electric train fleet on the North Island main trunk line with diesel locomotives.

An 18-year-old man will appear in court today after five people were shot with a paintball gun in Whangarei on the weekend.

A Hawke's Bay cyclist was on a real high, one that did not involve any illicit substances, after riding with disgraced former Tour

A man suffering diabetes crashed his car into a lamp post yesterday. And all emergency crews could do was wait - for 45 minutes

There was a record downpour in Auckland, a tornado in Taranaki and "quake lights" above Wellington. Oh, and 2016 was likely also New Zealand's hottest year on record.

Almost 600 undersized paua have been returned to the sea near Napier after several large-scale paua busts in one day. Ministry for

A man facing more than 50 charges after up to $150,000 worth of allegedly stolen goods was found around a Bridge Pa property earlier

The High Court has thrown out an appeal by a recidivist Northland drink-driver that his prison term be substituted with home detention

An 18-year-old woman who was waiting for a taxi in Whangarei with friends was "unable to see or open her eye" after a person in a

If variety is the spice of life, this week is set to be a lively one.

Police investigating the murder of Upper Hutt woman Lois Tolley say they have spoken to a number of people and made arrests on "unrelated matters".

It will be another good day for going to the beach for much of the north of the country.

A man came close to drowning before being rescued by members of the public in what has been a dramatic day at the country's beaches.

It's set to be a scorcher of a Saturday, with temperatures in some parts of the country expected to hit the high 20s.

A millionaire businessman who won a battle to keep his name secret was so addicted to cocaine he begged his dealer for a small amount to "keep him going".

Northland's amazing Lotto winning run has seen 28 major prizes won in the region in less than four months, including a $5.5 million

Two Northland men who collected excess and undersize scallops in the Bay of Islands then used a false retrospective customary permit

A Hawke's Bay dairy robber and two others were sent to jail yesterday for their roles in the knifepoint robbery of Napier's Westshore