'Very oily!' Today hosts lose the plot as they rub coconut oil over Tonga's shirtless flag-bearer, Pita Taufatofua.

The Tongan Prime Minister has laid a wreath at Auckland War Memorial Museum this afternoon.

Tongan Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva arrives in Auckland tomorrow [WEDNESDAY] for his first official visit as Prime Minister.

A tranquil lodge on a beach with spectacular sunsets makes for the perfect island getaway, writes Sue Baxalle.

A trainee Air Force crew joined a search for a missing boat in the Pacific earlier this week, but failed to find it.

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck Tonga.

I was absent mindedly washing my hands in the tiny toilet at the rear of the plane. Twenty minutes from landing.

It's an exhilarating feeling to launch a sea kayak from the beach and set out to explore a cluster of islands shimmering like a mirage under the tropical sun.

Tongan royalty has called upon a group of Kiwi musicians to perform at the King's coronation next week.

The only palangi in the room, I had been invited by Tongan community leader Melino Maka, who was keen to speak about the place of kava in the culture here, writes Peter Calder.

As the explorer noted, the islands of Tonga are truly the 'Friendly Isles'. Jane Jeffries is captivated on her visit.

Whale watching in Tonga goes extreme when Jane Jeffries hops in with the cetaceans.

A Kiwi student has come up with an innovative way to show off her artistic photography - by using traditional Pacific tapa cloth.

Leaders of Pacific nations are beginning to speak out about claims New Zealand has been keeping too close an eye on their people and one prime minister has called the move a breach of trust.

Tonga is a kingdom blessed with many warm-hearted people, finds Paul Rush.

Further volcanic eruptions have disrupted more flights to and from Tonga this evening.

Flights between Australia and Tonga should be back up and running by Wednesday after plumes of volcanic ash above the small island nation grounded planes.

Large ash cloud from a volcano in Tonga is affecting flights in the region, with aviation authorities issuing an alert.

New Zealand double Olympic gold medallist Valerie Adams had a scare when a plane she was on started to skid off a runway in Tonga.

When the Tongan monarchy relinquished much of its power in 2008, it seemed the path to a working parliamentary democracy would be relatively straightforward.

Olympic gold medallist Valerie Adams escaped a possible aircraft crash after a plane she was on started skidding off a runway in Tonga.

He'll inevitably be labelled as another one who got away, but no one in New Zealand rugby is convinced Taniela Tupou will return to bite them.

A former Auckland policeman and Kiwi league representative who romanced two Pacific princesses has died in Hawaii, after an apparent family shooting.

Two Tongan police officers found guilty of the manslaughter of a NZ constable have been sentenced to jail, a sentence his family have called "a slap on the wrist."

Almost two years have passed since constable Kali Fungavaka was killed. And the two policeman guilty of his manslaughter had to face his wife and children in court.

Mana Party Leader Hone Harawira is facing a new challenge in his Te Tai Tokerau seat at this year's election, from his party's former Te Tai Tonga candidate Clinton Dearlove.