Revellers celebrating New Year and the start of a new decade in New Zealand behaved themselves last night.

A leaked report recommends setting aside up to a fifth of Mount Aspiring National Park's 350,000ha for possible mining and exploration.

Today marks 100 years since the first ascent of Mt Aspiring, New Zealand's highest peak outside the Aoraki-Mt Cook region.

The survivor of a "freak accident" spent a night alone on a narrow ledge at an isolated cliff-face knowing his climbing companion had fallen to his death.

Wanaka has exciting boarding and a special ambience, writes Isaac Davison.