Radiant summer weather made a brief call to the North Island at the weekend, attracting hardy bathers into the still-cool water at beaches and creating a run on icecream.

A man in his 50s died after falling 10m from a flying fox at a Northland fun park today. St John territory manager Mark Going said an ambulance from Whangarei responded to a call in Maungakaramea at about 5.45pm.

The family of slain up-and-coming rugby league star Luke Tipene are gathering for another farewell after his second cousin was killed in a car crash.

A person has died in a crash between a car and a truck on State Highway 1 south of Whangarei.

About 10 officers are expected back in Second Ave following the death of 56-year-old resident Michael Patrick Griffin.

A 16-year-old has been charged with the murder of a Whangarei man who was assaulted at his home on Sunday morning.

A father of three who died after an apparently unprovoked attack at his Whangarei property has been named by police.

A 50-year-old man has been arrested over a kidnapping incident in Whangarei last month.

North is just the tops, Elisabeth Easther discovers on a trip up to Whangarei.

A rare Nissan Skyline racing car, valued at $60,000, has been stolen from a rural property in Whangarei.

A wounded postwoman is believed to have been accidentally shot with a pellet gun while making her rounds in Northland yesterday morning.

An elderly woman was beaten with her own walking sticks during a home invasion in Whangarei last night.

The chief executive of the KiwiYo company says he is deeply sorry that a Whangarei teenager quit her job after she was told not to greet customers with a traditional "kia ora".

A 68-year-old woman died and three people were injured after a car crossed the centre line and collided into two vehicles, police say.

Police are investigating the kidnapping of a 33-year-old woman who was forced to drive around Whangarei with a man who threatened her with a knife in the car.

More than 2000 avocados stolen from a Whangarei orchard had recently been sprayed and are unsafe to eat, police say.

With the school holidays over, forecasters are warning to brace for another cold week as the main highway north of Auckland remains closed for repairs.

Torrential rain last night caused slips which partially closed State Highway 1 as Northland was lashed by stormy weather for a second straight weekend.

Home alone with no readily available food or heating, police found four children in a darkened, dirty house, lit only by a computer screen's glow.

A kayaker who capsized in wild Northland weather last night was embarking on his usual 10-minute commute home from work.

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.

Cooking oil left burning on stoves has caused serious burns to an elderly lady and left a young family homeless in two separate house fires in Whangarei over the weekend.