A truck is on fire south of Taupo causing State Highway 1 to close.

It looks like a winter wonderland - unless you're a farmer who has lost stock and fences, say Hawke's Bay locals struggling after the area's worst snow storm in more than half a century.

The Napier-Taupo Rd (State Highway 5) will remain open overnight, but the NZ Transport Agency is warning drivers to exercise extra

A man has been charged with criminal nuisance after crashing into a power pole causing an outage that led to the death of a woman on a ventilator in January.

New Zealand last night hunkered down for the big chill - with rugby fans battling sub-zero temperatures at the Super Rugby final.

New Zealand is hunkering down for the big chill tonight - including in Wellington where footy fans are set to be endure a low of -1C for the Super Rugby final.

Snow showers are expected on the Desert and Napier-Taupo roads tomorrow. MetService said 1-3cm could settle around the Desert Rd

A woman suffered serious injuries after being ejected from her car during a crash near Taupo this morning.

Fire services are currently at a house fire in Turangi.

The woman who killed toddler Moko Rangitoheriri has filed an appeal against her manslaughter sentence.

Arshpreet Kaur Sidhu had missed a flight to Auckland and had been catching a ride with friends when the accident happened. She should not have been in the crash.

Taupo Police have named the third person killed in a fatal car crash on the Desert Road on Monday morning.

The wintry blast has left dangerous avalanche conditions across New Zealand's high country.

Two teenage brothers killed in a car crash last weekend were "blessed with generous, caring and loving hearts", their mother says.

Court documents reveal criminal histories and rocky relationship before pair killed Moko.

Two teenage brothers killed in a central North Island crash have been remembered as loveable boys who wore their hearts on their sleeves.

Two teenaged brothers died in the double-fatal crash near Taupo on Friday night.

Two males died when a car hit a tree and rolled near Taupo late last night.

Firefighters are at the scene of a significant house fire in Turangi which they have been battling since 3.50pm today.

A truck and trailer unit carrying dry cement has crashed near Taupo.

Neighbour says convicted killer Tania Shailer was a 'nice girl' who sang and danced with her children prior to the horrific death of toddler Moko Rangitoheriri.

Turangi residents have been fighting with their local power company for years, with the company alleging the group is fearmongering.

Scientists continue to monitor one of New Zealand's volcanic hot spots as underground rumblings reverberate.

Research into how ash clouds from a large volcanic eruption under Lake Taupo would affect the country could help with managing the disaster if it occurs.

Inaugural Taupo Winter Festival will kickstart the cold season.

Fire investigators say a family were lucky to survive after a grandmother discovered her sleepout was on fire, despite there being no alarms.

Nia Glassie and Moko Rangitoheriri were both beaten to death at the age of 3.

After a period of uncharacteristic bubbling and steaming, Mt Ruapehu's Crater Lake is showing signs of cooling down.

The mother of a 3-year-old boy who died after torturous beatings at the hands of his caregivers has spoken out about her son's death.