Auckland's fledgling Waiheke ferry commuter service is launching a new vessel next week to boost capacity for the peak summer market.

A Waiheke holiday home with private beach access owned by a trust linked to businessman Mark Hotchin has sold for more than $14 million.

Here are TimeOut's picks of the big gigs bringing in 2015.

A spectacular maritime collision will cost an Auckland finance company executive more than $11,000 but he has avoided a conviction.

A drink driver on Waiheke Island is accused of trying to coerce a 6-year-old girl into his car, then making a throat-slitting gesture when she refused.

A relaxing island paradise of food, wine and great views is just a 35-minute ferry trip away, writes Donna McIntyre.

A new company will ferry passengers to Waiheke, Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands from today.

The Waiheke Island boat fire that killed a transient alcoholic and badly injured the boat owner has been deemed not suspicious by fire investigators.

Matthew Smith went for a walk in search of a better life. After two months and 1600km on foot between Waiheke Island and Queenstown, he reckons he has found it.

A post-mortem examination will be carried out this morning in Auckland on the victim of a fatal boat fire on Waiheke Island.

A distressed man with burns on his face, arms and hands tried desperately to get help for his friend who died in a boat fire at Waiheke Island last night.

One person has died and another suffered burns after a launch moored at Waiheke Island caught fire last night.

The battle for passengers on the Waiheke ferry service is about to heat up - much to the relief of many who say the current Fullers service is just not reliable enough.

Half Moon Bay ferry commuters say they are sick of bearing the brunt of service disruptions

About 40 Waiheke commuters were left to wait on the island yesterday after being unable to cram on a stand-in vessel for large ferries knocked out by storm damage and mechanical problems.

"This is Waiheke's Springbok Tour," says John Hawkesby, the bon vivant who has become the mouthpiece of dissent on the former hippie outpost of Waiheke Island.

Kayaking trips from Matiatia on Waiheke can be an adventure for the whole family, discovers Donna McIntyre.

Alarming declines in patronage on Auckland ferries have been blamed on a double-counting blooper stretching back to 2011.

A bird's eye view is your reward when you take to the skies above Waiheke, discovers Helen van Berkel.

A gentle walking trail that edges its way around a Waiheke vineyard will delight all members of the family, writes Donna McIntyre.

The public will be able to step inside 10 of Waiheke Island's most exclusive homes during the Waiheke House Tour.

Relaxation is what a Waiheke Island escape is for, writes Elisabeth Easther.

A fundraising concert for opponents of a planned Waiheke Island marina has been lauded as "Woodstock without the nakedness" by organiser John Hawkesby.

Donna McIntyre flies over Auckland in an old-school seaplane.