The Greymouth Volunteer Fire Bridge had to be called in to rescue Coire the black labrador from an abandoned mine shaft in bush at the top of Power Road on Saturday morning.

Patrice Gaffaney enjoys the pleasures of a day-long TranzAlpine rail trip through the scenic wonders of the Southern Alps.

Pellets laced with 1080 poison will be fed to trout to assess potential risks from the planned massive dump of the pesticide in native forests.

Fergusons Bush scenic reserve has lost a bit of its majesty after scores of trees were toppled in the Easter storm.

Parts of the West Coast landscape has been drastically altered, with whole forests flattened and the main tramping tracks rendered impassable by last week's huge storm.

A mad scramble is underway on the West Coast after the unprecedented windstorm that cut a trail of damage over 400km from Karamea to Fox Glacier.

A review into the supervision of the parolee who murdered Christchurch caregiver Amy Farrall is ongoing, Corrections confirmed today.

Slain Christchurch community worker Amy Farrall was given an emotional farewell today.

Murder victim Amy Farrall will be laid to rest at a private funeral service in Christchurch, with guests asked to make donations to the SPCA in lieu of flowers.

Amy Farrall's caring, loving nature and tendency to try to help people in need may have led to her violent death, her friends and family fear.

A suspect in the homicide probe into the death of Amy Farrall has been quizzed this afternoon in hospital while he undergoes surgery for dog bite injuries sustained during his arrest.

The man arrested over the attack of two hitchhikers and being spoken to in relation to a Christchurch homicide probe had been living with victim Amy Farrall, police have confirmed.

The public is being asked to report sightings of two vehicles as police investigate the death of Christchurch woman Amy Farrall.

Two female German tourists are in hospital after they were found near Franz Josef with serious injuries at around 4pm today.

It was every parent's worst nightmare; news their child has died while travelling on the other side of the world, their rented campervan swept off the road during a powerful storm.

A young Canadian couple were killed when their campervan was swept off the road by the second landslide to hit the road they were on, an inquest has ruled.