Most of the 25 cats owned by Invercargill woman Averil Gardiner have been rehomed to meet a court's deadline.

'The time has come for reality to sink in,' said a judge as he ordered an Invercargill woman to dispose of 22 of cats.

A novice boatie died in a cold Southland lake after the boat's powerful outboard motor broke free, leaving a hole in the hull.

An Invercargill woman went to great lengths to hide her face yesterday during a court hearing over the 25 cats she keeps on her property.

Northland Police have launched a homicide investigation following a violent incident which left a young man dead north of Whangarei last night.

Both the North and South Islands have had a shaky start to the day, with a moderate quake in Southland and two light ones near Masterton.

An elderly Southland man who suffered burns to most of his body in a house fire on Friday night has died in hospital, police have said today.

A man was trapped in a wreck for over an hour after a crash between a campervan and a car.

Danielle Wright and family share the water with albatrosses, bottlenose dolphins and sea lions on a wilderness cruise through Doubtful Sound.

Elisabeth Easther finds fascination in a great bank robbery in a beautiful town.

A Southland farmer has been ordered to pay $152,000 in fines and reparations after a worker on his farm was crushed to death in August last year.

A 26-year-old man suffered a fractured skull in a "senseless" unprovoked attack in Invercargill over the weekend.

Ferries were cancelled, roads were closed and thousands were without power in Auckland as a wintry blast blew through yesterday.

A fire has broken out at a freezing works operation in Mataura.

A wildlife expedition to Fiordland takes you up close to a pristine land of legend and glacial beauty, writes Jim Eagles.

A police dog handler whose animal bit a suspected criminal, who turned out to be an innocent man relieving himself in a car park, has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Intrepid trampers or a bunch of softies? Pam Neville puts the case for guided walks.

Pamela Wade finds the unspoiled beauty of New Zealand's southeast is wasted on some.

The designer of the Southland Stadium, the roof of which collapsed under heavy snow in 2010, has been expelled from the Institution of Professional Engineers NZ.

A 37-year-old man was arrested after the Armed Offenders Squad was called to a domestic incident involving a Taser in Southland.

The Invercargill woman charged with keeping too many cats on her city property can be now be named.

Angry friends and relatives of a young Southland hunter walked out of court when it became apparent the man who mistook him for a deer wouldn't be sent to prison.