Elisabeth Easther finds this town has much to boast besides its famed giant L&P bottle.

They were a few kilometres off the coast of Coromandel trying to catch some snapper - they then hit a 63kg pig.

A missing Coromandel man who failed to return from an overnight hunting trip was located on Thursday evening down the bottom of a bluff near his home.

District Search and Rescue said it was out of character for 50-year-old Scott Grant Driver not to return home as he usually only went out for a few hours.

A toddler who survived a fall from a moving train carriage on a popular tourist railway line on the Coromandel Peninsula is recovering well.

Government scientists promise to keep a close eye on three scallop fisheries from where they have received reports of deformed, watery and stunted specimens.

Concern is stirring over the health of several scallop fisheries after an investigation has detected the spread of a new parasite to North Island waters.

Another development backdown at a world-famous Coromandel beach has renewed calls for authorities to buy the land for good.

A decision to withdraw subdivision plans next to a Coromandel beach - described by TV star Phil Keoghan today as “absolutely iconic” - has been met with relief.

A female in her late teens was the sole occupant of a car which left the road and crashed down a bank in the Coromandel this morning.

The woman is understood to have been travelling with her daughter into Hahei township, while the second vehicle - carrying two foreign tourists - was leaving.

Squabbling developers are asking for public hearings on the New Chums beach development in the Coromandel to be postponed until they can sort out their differences.

A Thames man shot by police after an armed stand-off in the town has been named. Police confirmed he was Vaughan William John Te Moananui, 33, of Thames.

Police shot dead a man who confronted them with a gun during an incident on the Coromandel yesterday. The Armed Offenders Squad and the Police Negotiation Team were called after police were alerted to a "significant threat of violence" about midday in Thames.

Police shot dead a man who confronted them with a gun during an incident on the Coromandel yesterday.

One of the oldest human artefacts found in NZ discovered off Coromandel.

A teenage driver who careered off a cliff in his car says he owes his life to the family he narrowly missed on the rocks below.

Charity collectors are using checkpoints to stop drivers on a popular holiday highway and asking for cash.

A woman who watched in horror as a car careered over a cliff, just missing her two grandchildren below, says she would like to visit the crash victim in hospital.

A teenager was airlifted to hospital after his car plunged 15m down a bank in the Coromandel this morning.

Two men critically injured in a forestry accident had been hauling a big log up a deep gully before it suddenly turned on them, striking one man in the head.

Two men were seriously injured in a logging accident in a forest in the Coromandel this afternoon.

Campers could be forced to make way for million-dollar beachfront mansions as a popular Coromandel campground is placed on the market.

An island about 4km off the Coromandel coast is being marketed as a boutique tourism venture or the ultimate private hideaway.

About 1400 private bach owners on the Coromandel face being stung with a new council charge if their properties are rented out as short-term holiday accommodation.

Two women who died in a head-on collision in Waikato this morning were a New Zealander and an Australian, police have confirmed.

A beachfront holiday home has had a record-breaking 1,800 people through during a series of open homes as Kiwis rekindle their love affair with coastal property.

A homicide investigation has been launched after a man was found dead in Whangamata overnight.

Community spirit, cool cafes and amazing walks add to the gold mining town's charm, finds Elisabeth Easther.