A large body of water gradually moving towards the northwest Victorian city of Swan Hill has threatened small communities in its path.

One of the two men plucked from rough surf last night would have survived only minutes longer, says the firefighter who mounted the speedy jetski rescue on the Bay of Plenty coast last night.

DOC staff have killed 10 pilot whales which survived the stranding of a pod of 24 in Parengarenga harbour in the Far North.

Police say they are confident a body found on a lake near Rotorua this morning is that of a missing teenage jetskier.

A Kiwi living in Brisbane described the city as total chaos yesterday as people were evacuated.

Police and Navy divers are continuing searching into the evening for the body of a teenage boy presumed dead after a jetski accident on a lake near Rotorua, while family and friends continue to hold vigil on the shoreline.

Education not legislation is the answer to improve safety on the water, Maritime NZ safety inspector Jim Lilley says.

Navy divers with sonar equipment will join police tomorrow in the search for a teenage boy presumed dead after a jetski accident near Rotorua.

The dangers on the water are the same as on the roads, so boaties should be licensed just like drivers, says the Pauanui-Tairua harbourmaster.

There is a search on Auckland's Waitemata Harbour this morning.

Police are investigating the death of a 29-year-old Indonesian man during a lifeboat exercise aboard a cruise ship in Lyttelton Harbour yesterday.

Board shorts had arrived with surfing sometime in the 1960s and looked good, I had to admit, when the wearer was standing on water. But those of us decently immersed had no use for them.

Jill Worrall discovers a haven for royalty and an ingenious irrigation system in the desert city of Yazd.

Play it safe in the water and know your limits this summer, says Water Safety New Zealand.

People visiting the Kerikeri Basin near the Stone Store could come face-to-face with a sign warning them the water is polluted.