A mother and a man abandoned three children after the pair were caught shoplifting at Taupo's Pak'n Save supermarket.

Roads and vehicles must be "more forgiving" to curb a road toll which averages more than one death a day, the AA says. Figures released by the Ministry of Transport today show 371 people died on the roads over the past year.

A foreign rowing official who was caught by police driving over 80 km/h over the speed limit has had the charges dropped.

Plans to build New Zealand's biggest geothermal power station are a step closer to reality, with Contact winning draft approval for its 250 megawatt Tauhara station.

A Hamilton man will appear on court on a firearm charge after the death of a woman near Taupo last night.

The Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge is a mammoth event. Phil Taylor shares his experience.

This is the third year the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge has offered a parallel mountainbike event. I did the first one in 2008.

It lies in wait for the unsuspecting, Hatepe Hill.

A 10-year-old boy says he would have died without the brave actions of an off-duty police officer who pulled him from a burning wreck.

The weather isn't always a headline maker but it certainly affects us more than many of the news stories that we read about each day.

Fast boats, helicopter views and thundering water - the central plateau provides adrenalin galore, writes Beck Vass.