There was nothing unusual about the late-night 5.1 quake that shook Marlborough and the lower North Island on Wednesday, says a scientist.

Four people will be flown to hospital after a plane bounced off a remote runway in Marlborough.

NZTA is prioritising clearing Lewis Pass, the main transport link between Picton and Christchurch since November's big earthquake.

A new study has found the 50-strong little spotted kiwi population has a poor hatch rate due to inbreeding.

More than 20,000 students asked for an emergency derived grade following the Kaikoura earthquake.

Idiot throwing nails onto highway could face serious charges, warn police.

An American tourist reported missing over the weekend has been found on board a charter yacht.

A vegetation fire is burning out of control on a sandspit at the bottom of the South Island.

Police are searching for a US tourist whose passport and other items have been found at a Marlborough marina.

A bush fire which threatened homes near Blenheim this afternoon is being treated as suspicious.

Central New Zealand has been rocked by a strong magnitude 4.5 quake.

Residents on Gascoyne, Budge, Henderson and Gardiner streets should stay inside, police say.

Missing sailor found after failing to meet a friend on New Year's Eve.

A severe quake measuring 5.3 rocked central New Zealand just after midnight.

Blenheim Police are appealing to the public for help finding a sailor who has been reported missing in the Marlborough Sounds area.

Boy racers black out an intersection with tyre skidmarks.

A new fight may be developing between Government and iwi over fishing rights, this time in the Marlborough Sounds.

The MetService is forecasting rain for much of New Zealand today, perhaps ruining plans for post-party barbecues and sunbathing.

When Kaikoura locals told visiting PM Bill English the Govt effort was "piss poor" in the quake-strewn region, Gerry Brownlee let them have it.

The father of convicted double murderer Scott Watson responds after Gerald Hope's letter following a prison meeting with the man sent away for killing his daughter.

Olivia Hope's father says he felt convicted killer Scott Watson had rehearsed his responses to many of the questions when they met.

The details of the first conversation between the father of Olivia Hope and the man convicted of her murder are revealed in a magazine article today.

Gerald Hope and Scott Watson believe they are both victims who are yet to get the truth about what happened to Olivia Hope and Ben Smart in the Marlborough Sounds.

Convicted Marlborough Sounds double murderer Scott Watson is set to learn before Christmas if he will be paroled.

A new satellite-based tool published by Landcare Research has provided one of the clearest views yet of what changes last month's 7.8 Kaikoura Earthquake wrought on the landscape.

A severe 5.5 jolt that shook central New Zealand yesterday afternoon has been followed by a flurry of tremors overnight.

Motorists travelling the alternative route between Christchurch and Picton have been caught up in heavy congestion today, as traffic pressure mounts on the post-quake thoroughfare.

Eighteen per cent of GP clinics closed their books to new patients

The 7.8 earthquake damaged around 20 per cent of Marlborough's storage tanks, but 2016 still promises to be a good year for wine.

The signs of summer are among us with pohutakawa trees flowering already and forecasters say the official first day of the season on Thursday will be calm and dry.