Cold nights are lit up with fire breathers, tin lanterns and fluorescent faces, finds Catherine Smith.

Head to some of these local gems next time you're visiting the peninsula.

This old mining town is finding a new fortune in the beauty of its forests, writes Elisabeth Easther.

Fergusson, the 10kg cat, is a regular sight in the corridors of Waikato Hospital, cheering up patients and posing for photographs as he goes.

Paul Charman on the joys of a weekend driving around the Central Plateau.

A 29-year-old inmate is in a stable condition after a stabbing at Spring Hill Prison.

Climb aboard a carriage to appreciate a potter's decades-long labour of love.

This hand-laid, three-kilometre-long railway snakes its way through rugged Coromandel bush terrain to a tower that affords wonderful views out to the Hauraki Gulf.

For further information see: drivingcreekrailway.co.nz

Small town New Zealand does wonderful and whacky to keep up our winter spirits.

The 'H's: Hobbit holes, horses and heartfelt hospitality, writes Elisabeth Easther.

Head to this wonderful part of Waikato for encounters with llamas, a dose of Kiwiana and scenic bush hikes galore.

A baby has been taken from a Hamilton property to Waikato Hospital in a serious to critical condition and police are investigating what happened at the property.

Workers at a meat processing plant in Te Aroha were evacuated after a chemical leak this morning.

Two Hamilton police officers are being praised for catching a man who leapt from the second floor of a burning building.

There is a claim the lives of 20 babies at Waikato Hospital were put at risk when maintenance staff turned off the air to their breathing supply last week.

Goodwill shown by the Putaruru community overwhelmed police during today's search for a missing toddler.

Danielle Wright discovers clubs happy to welcome you in out of the cold.

Danielle Wright finds sweet treats at an old dairy factory in the Waikato.

Severe rain and wind warnings and a drop in temperatures have been issued for parts of the South Island and lower North Island this weekend.