Holidaymakers heading for Bali have suffered another setback after their delayed Air New Zealand plane was forced to return to Auckland today.

Views of Auckland's famous volcanoes are in the firing line as big landowners and property developers seek changes to the Auckland unitary plan.

When is our next big bang? That's the explosive question a team of scientists are going to try to answer.

A catastrophic volcanic eruption in Auckland's industrial heart could have an economic impact of up to $10 billion in the first year.

Southern Chile's Calbuco volcano has erupted for the first time in nearly half a century, spewing a giant funnel of ash 10km into the sky.

A state-of-the-art underwater glider - the first of its kind in New Zealand - is set to uncover new insights into our offshore environment.

The volcanic alert level for Mt Ngauruhoe in the central North Island was escalated to level one by GNS Science today.

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.

Kiwi Simon Turner took toasting marshmallows to the extreme this week when he threw his rod out over an active lava lake inside Marcum Crater in Ambrym, Vanuatu.

Videographer Bradley Ambrose films colleague Simon Turner having a beer and roasting a marshmallow at Marcum Crater in Ambrym, Vanuatu. As you do.

Kerry Suter offsets his sedentary IT professional lifestyle with as much running as the day allows.

At first blush the proposal to ban cars from the summits of Auckland's volcanoes seems outrageous; on reflection, not so bad.

Japan could be wiped off the face of the earth by a massive volcanic eruption some time in the next century, killing almost all of its 127m inhabitants, a new study says.

Rescue workers have found 30 or more people unconscious and believed to be dead near the peak of an erupting volcano in central Japan.

Many of Auckland's volcanic cones, including those at the Domain and Mt Smart, have gained official Maori names under a Treaty of Waitangi settlement.

A volcano erupted yesterday in eastern Papua New Guinea, spewing rocks and ash into the air and forcing the evacuation of local communities, seismologists and reports said.

A spate of small earthquakes around White Island today is not unusual and is nothing to worry about, seismologist John Ristau says.

A NZ couple who swam for their lives when the Indonesian ferry they were on sank say their experience should serve as a warning to other travellers.

Land slips on Maungawhau/Mt Eden have prompted a call for the Government to help ratepayers with urgent restoration work on Auckland's volcanic cones.

Two Kiwi tourists who braved 11 hours clinging to their capsized ferry in Indonesia swam in searing heat and swift seas for up to eight more hours.

The Crown is gifting some of Auckland's most historic and recognisable assets - 14 volcano sites - to a group of 13 iwi and hapu.

Infra-red technology to help aircraft detect volcanic ash is to go into commercial production, allowing planes to see ash 96.54kms ahead.

Some of the biggest volcanic eruptions of the last 2,000 years have left their indelible mark deep within the pristine ice sheet of the Antarctic, a study has found.

Darwin remains cut off from all air services and flights from Australia to Bali are being affected as three separate ash plumes billow from an Indonesian volcano.

A vast ash cloud spewing from an Indonesian volcano has already shut Darwin Airport and is spreading south towards Alice Springs, an expert says.

With over 10 volcanic craters and cones, Mangere is packed with adventures, writes Diana Clement.