The owner of a Christchurch home where a man posing as a delivery driver forced his way inside today and tied up a husband and wife for three hours has been "targeted" before, a source says.

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.

A bad weather forecast has scuppered the historic Dunedin visit of mega-cruise ship the Ovation of the Seas on Thursday.

Rescuers say it's fortunate there wasn't a double fatality after two climbers fell 200m at Mt Aspiring.

A van and truck carrying a house collided on SH1 near Clinton this afternoon.

Gore's anti-prohibition whisky makers had plenty of bite, writes Eleanor Ainge Roy.

A man posing as a delivery driver burst into a Christchurch home this morning, tied up a husband and wife for three hours, before fleeing in their car.

The two trampers missing in Arthur's Pass National Park have been found.

Justine Tyerman and her husband warm to the deadline-free realities of life on the road.

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

"We had a lot of people both in New Zealand and overseas who couldn't get here before Christmas so we have extended the sale date."

A firefighter has drained an entire town's water supply after filling up a school swimming pool from a hydrant in a small South Island town.

Local runanga have halted slip-clearing operations on earthquake-damaged State Highway 1 and the rail link north of Kaikoura.

Armed police discovered live booby traps, an underground bunker and weapons, including an AK47, during a raid of a property near Timaru today.

Has the mystery of a 100m-long object that washed up on Te Waewae Bay in western Southland this week been solved?

It's official - New Zealand no longer has some of the world's most offensive place names.

A Westport man who smashed at high speed into the car of an elderly couple after drinking home brew has "stuffed up their lives forever", says a district court judge.

A cannabis oil cook-up gone wrong caused three explosions at an Orowaiti Road property, the Westport District Court was told yesterday.

Fire crews are fighting a vegetation fire south of Dunedin this morning.

An Otago gully has been in flames since 10pm this evening.

A German tourist received nasty bites when he crossed paths with a "grumpy seal" at Abel Tasman National Park.

Beautiful Portobello has wildlife, great views and excellent coffee.

There is a severe weather warning in parts of the South Island today, where heavy rain is expected.

Convicted killer Colin Bouwer's bid to block his deportation from New Zealand has been quashed.

An immediate focus was being put on upgrading State Highway 63 near St Arnaud in the weeks leading up to the very busy Christmas-New Year travel period.

The very health and safety changes which the Pike River disaster prompted make re-entering the mine difficult, Prime Minister Bill English says.

A pregnant woman who stole from her dying mother, burst into tears when she was told she would give birth behind bars.

A judge yesterday castigated a flood of drink-drivers who appeared in the Queenstown District Court.

A string of light earthquakes have hit several parts of the country since Seddon was rattled by a 4.7 magnitude quake last night.

Families of the 29 men killed in the Pike River mining tragedy are standing their ground as they protest against a bid to seal off the mine permanently.