Rob Cox refuses to let some wild and crazy weather ruin a weekend away at Glinks Gully.

Two cars in a ditch after part of the road was swept away from in front of them last night.

Parts of the country were lashed by heavy rain, thunderstorms and flash floods yesterday wreaking havoc for Dunedin and areas of Auckland.

The explosive thunderstorms that hit the North Island yesterday should ease but heavy rain and plummeting temperatures are forecast for the rest of the week.

Police have revealed the man killed yesterday on a farm near the Kaipara Harbour died after felling trees in a gully.

A man has been killed by a falling tree in Northland as ferocious thunder storms and lightning strikes bore down on Auckland and the upper North Island.

Aucklanders were battered by wild weather this evening as thunder and lightning hit the region.

The country’s top road cop is lamenting the deaths of five people over the Queen’s Birthday holiday weekend, including a 5-year-old boy who died in hospital yesterday.

Philip Duncan of WeatherWatch said another band of wet, cold weather would be making its way across the country throughout today and next week.

Rental company Wicked Campers has again fallen foul of the advertising watchdog with offensive slogans painted on its vans.

Four people have been injured, two of them seriously, in a car crash this afternoon.

Lonely Planet has confirmed what Northlanders have known for years - the unmissable site that has made New Zealand's top 10 list.

Seven people have been arrested in Kaikohe as part of a crack down on gangs in the area, police say.

One person is dead after their car went off a bridge and into a river about 120km north-west of Whangarei tonight.

Cleanup efforts have started. Mount Maunganui Intermediate will be closed Friday after announcing that it had suffered “considerable damage”.

Some regions will "fail" economically and perhaps socially unless we help them to adjust, the Salvation Army says.

In the midst of the madness of the Northland byelection, an important story about the New Zealand economy was being told, writes Grant Robertson.

Chase the sun north to a proud town where Elisabeth Easther finds a warm welcome and a fascinating history.

It took just 15 minutes for Ian McDonald's sore shoulder to turn into pain so excruciating it felt like a knife cutting into his spine.

A Northland teacher convicted of sexually abusing two girls and physically abusing six children placed in his care by Child Youth and Family has had an appeal against his conviction dismissed.

Clear sunny days will brighten the weekend, but once the sun sets, prepare for chilly nights, MetService says.

A Northland man accused of murder after a fatal fight can now be named.

Two flood-damaged police cars were written off in one year, with more than $71,991 being spent on repairing vehicles in the Northland police fleet.

Most people don't renew their wedding vows within the first year of marriage - but most people don't suffer a life-threatening medical emergency at the altar.

The National Party's support has remained steady despite its defeat in the Northland by-election, a new poll shows.

Former National MP Mike Sabin has picked up a job as the head of a luxury resort in Northland.

The two truck collision took place on State Highway 1 near the intersection of Jordan Valley Rd, Hikurangi, around 6.45am.