Both the holiday road toll and last year's entire toll are the worst they've been in years.

Bay of Islands the place to be for summer sun today

Police in Northland are investigating the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl.

Three people were left clinging to their boat after it capsized about 500m off the Northland Coast this afternoon.

Five helicopters with monsoon buckets have been dispatched to the Far North in a bid to bring a large scrub fire under control.

The holiday road toll stands at 17, rising overnight with the deaths of two pedestrians in Northland.

New Year's Eve fireworks are believed to have sparked a fire on Mt Wellington's volcanic cone - and in the Far North where buildings and campers were also under threat.

New Year's Eve has got off to a disastrous start to two people who were injured in a dune buggy crash in Northland this evening.

A spectacular fireworks display off Auckland's Sky Tower and parties around the country herald the start of a new year.

Holiday road toll is at 14 after a person was killed in a single-car crash in Northland, as police in Hawke's Bay appeal for witnesses to a hit and run.

One person has died in a water rescue at Doves Bay Marina, near Kerikeri in the Far North.

Missing yachtie likely to be sailing his tiny catamaran to Australia, where he has disappeared with his 6-year-old daughter Que previously, according to an expert.

Paihia residents and visitors are urged to conserve water as a sharp increase in use strains the town's water supply. The summer

A fire that came within a metre of a ute and a few metres of a Kerikeri home was a blaze waiting to happen, the town's fire chief

Lost paint and an embarrassed skipper were the only damage when a tall ship got stuck on a rock in the Bay of Islands with 40 passengers

JS291216NADPOOL047.JPG/CHEMICAL MISHAP: A man tending Ruawai College's pool was under observation yesterday after he accidentally

Wanted man dodges police after removing electronic monitoring bracelet.

An 11-year-old child has been critically hurt after being struck by a vehicle at Te Paki stream in the Far North.

A weak cold front will bring cloud, drizzle and showers to the country over the next few days but should clear in time for New Year celebrations.

The adoptive grandmother of Alan Langdon is heartbroken the Kawhia man and his 6-year-old daughter Que have not been heard from in 11 days.

Alan Langdon, 49, and his daughter, Que, 6, haven't been seen or heard from since they sailed from Kawhia Harbour 11 days ago.

The disappearance of a father and daughter who set sail in a small catamaran 10 days ago is "very upsetting" for the family's local community.

A seabird expert has described the discovery of mutilated flesh-footed shearwaters in sand dunes as "barbaric and completely unacceptable''.

Police are concerned for the welfare of a 49-year-old man and his daughter who left Kawhia Harbour on a catamaran nine days ago and haven't been seen since.

Cyclists will be able to pedal from one coast to the other this summer with the Twin Coast Cycle Trail Pou Herenga Tai all but complete. The

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.

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.

The best spots for enjoying a Christmas hamper outdoors will be in the Bay of Plenty, Nelson and Central Otago tomorrow.

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

A 10-year-old Whangarei boy who was hit by a car while on a pedestrian crossing remains in a stable condition in Starship Children's