To the great white shark, a spot of water out from Stewart Island has been revealed as the equivalent of the corner pub.

Bad weather has put a damper on the start of the Bluff oyster season but it has not stopped Auckland's restaurants and retailers getting them on to plates in the thousands.

A baby owes its life to its grandmother who intervened during her own daughter's attempt at infanticide.

The official warning over a tsunami that threatened the entire east coast of New Zealand today has been downgraded to an advisory, but there is still a threat from ocean surges.

Civil Defence authorities have downgraded the tsunami warning for New Zealand. However, New Zealand authorities are warning that there could be surges for up to 24 hours.

Wave activity "appears to be stabilised" at previously-reported levels, Civil Defence Emergency Management says.

The first wave has reached the Chatham Islands, after a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit Chile overnight. An official tsunami alert remains in place for New Zealand's entire east coast.

A teenage girl who fought off a shark was lucky the animal only gave her an "exploratory bite", an expert says.

A 14-year-old boogie-boarder attacked by a shark says she stood on something slippery before seeing a "massive grey thing twisting in the water".

Summer has ground to a spectacular halt in a number of regions over the past week - is it going to get even worse?