A piece of paper caught in a tree led searchers to the wreckage of a missing helicopter and the body of pilot Damian Webster in Kahurangi National Park.

A series of poor decisions and missed opportunities may have contributed to the deaths of two climbers after they spent two freezing nights stuck near the summit of Mt Taranaki.

The body of a 65-year-old cyclist has been recovered from a bank near an Otago cycle track today.

Wayne Redman clung to the upturned hull of his boat for hours in icy-cold water fearing he might not survive.

Coffee and Weet-Bix were what a fisherman needed after spending four hours in the cold waters of Tauranga Harbour.

A young man spent hours in near freezing conditions after leaving a hunting group in bush near Oamaru, early this morning, drunk and with no shoes.

The body of a 21-year-old climber who slipped and fell to his death on Mt Aspiring last night has been recovered by a search team.

A Christchurch man who was killed by an avalanche may have ignored the risks of an avalanche on the day he died, a coroner's finding says.

An Italian exchange student who was lost in the Wainuiomata bush for almost 24 hours has been found.

A frightened woman who watched her climbing companion slip on ice and fall 300m was helped to safety in a dramatic mountain rescue on Whakapapa skifield.

A mountain climber has suffered serious head injuries after falling 300m down Mt Ruapehu today.

A woman who was swept to her death in a flood-swollen Bay of Islands river was a 28-year-old mother from Wellington.

Shane Andrews was riding to work across a bridge when a driver distracted by the swollen Waimakariri River crossed the centre line and knocked him into the river.

Three people were plucked to safety from a liferaft after abandoning their stricken yacht north of New Zealand in a dramatic rescue today.

Strong winds off the coast of Taranaki have pushed trans-Tasman kayaker Scott Donaldson even further from shore.

A kayaker paddling from Australia to New Zealand is making headway again after running dangerously low on supplies and hunkering down in bad weather.

A man who fell 40 metres down a cliff while chasing a wild goat says he's lucky to be alive.

An urgent aid mission will get underway today to drop vital supplies to a kayaker attempting a solo trip across the Tasman Sea.

Five men had a lucky escape when the dinghy they were in capsized on the Waikato river.