Going walkabout is a great way to experience the winterless north, says Donna McIntyre.

INCREDIBLE PHOTOS: Woman saves two-metre-long sevengill shark after it became stranded while fleeing hungry orcas.

Another slice of Kiwi coastal paradise could be headed for the open market after the Department of Conservation turned down the chance to buy it.

An upstream river paddle is fun and games on a budget for all the family, writes Rob Cox.

Catherine Smith discovers a vibrant dining scene in the gastronomic capital of Northland.

A waterfront mansion built for NZ's most notorious drug lord, complete with helicopter pad and mythical "escape tunnel", is again for sale.

A veteran yachtsman spent two cold, wet hours perched on the mast of his heritage yacht after it hit rocks and sank in the middle of the night.

A vehicle has been seized because its owner had gathered more than 600 cockles - 12 times the legal limit for the Auckland and Coromandel areas.

Up to $10,000 of taxpayers' money was spent on a rescue in Northland over the weekend for a group of Aucklanders "who were not in real danger", police say.

A great boys' trip up north is about golf and sleep not babes and beach for family man Rob Cox.

Elisabeth Easther visited Russell for a sneak preview of the Bay of Islands Walking Weekend and found a wealth of wanders on offer.

The lovely Bay of Islands has something for all, writes Penny Lewis.

A bottlenose dolphin thought to have lost its calf has adopted a baby of another species.

The sky is the limit as a Northland town turns on the charm for a winter festival, writes Elisabeth Easther.

Rachel Grunwell finds plenty to keep her busy on a weekend in Russell.

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

Ewan McDonald completes a personal triathlon in the Far North.

Elisabeth Easther discovers a gem of a town in Northland where the train runs down the middle of the main street.

Elisabeth Easther finds New Zealand's former capital is still a capital place.

History was written here, writes Elisabeth Easther.

Elisabeth Easther finds a touch of Northland paradise.

Danielle Wright takes her family on a vintage steam train along the main street of a tiny town with a big reputation.

Elisabeth Easther finds a Far North town steeped in history.

A pair of humpback whales thrilled tourists in the Bay of Islands, breaching several times out of the water in full display.

Most travellers in the north know Kawakawa as the town with the railway running down the middle of the main street.

A popular drawcard for overseas visitors, the Bay of Islands proves an action-packed success, too, for Geoff Cumming's family holiday.

Feel like a break in the north? Stop in at this bustling Bay of Islands town.

A deliciously relaxing hosted stay in the Bay of Islands broadens Sharleen Heijstra's holiday hot list.

Summer time and the living is made easy at a Provence-style bed and breakfast. Geraldine McManus reports.