Liz Light visits Westland's kotuku colony.

The Christchurch earthquake has delayed the preliminary hearing of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into last year's Pike River Coal mine disaster, which claimed the lives of 29 men.

Jim Eagles discovers crazy heart-pumping, breath-taking thrills on historic rivers, mining tunnels and shafts on the West Coast.

Several appeals have been launched to help Cantabrians following today's devastating earthquake. ANZ launched an appeal and announced it would make the first donation, $1 million.

The key selection conundrum for Warriors coach Ivan Cleary is how he structures the right hand side of the park.

The maker of a plane which crashed in Fox Glacier, killing nine people, is warning against putting more powerful engines into the planes.

The Miners' Solidarity Day will see the Warriors play Newcastle tomorrow in a match to remember the victims of the tragedy.

A South Island couple unable to escape Cairns before Cyclone Yasi hit overnight felt so safe in their hotel they slept, then watched the huge storm from their balcony.

Police made the "wrong call" to raise hopes for a rescue after the first Pike River Coal mine explosion, Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn says.

All 29 men lost in the Pike River disaster died within minutes of the first blast in the West Coast coal mine, a coronial inquest into the disaster has concluded.

The man charged with overseeing the Pike River mine smelled diesel or exhaust in the air about the time it was hit with an explosion that killed 29 men.

The 29 workers who died in the Pike River disaster would have died within minutes of the original explosion at the West Coast coal mine, a coronial hearing in Greymouth has heard.

John Key has defended police in the wake of a damning report and a much criticised decision to end recovery efforts at Pike River Coal mine.