• Paula Penfold and family enjoyed sunny San Cristobal, Mexico.
• Dom Harvey and Jay-Jay Feeney escaped to Las Vegas.
• Danielle Cormack, who turned 44 on Boxing Day, was on the West Coast.
• Beauden Barrett was at Butler's Reef, New Plymouth.
• Sophie Pascoe said happy New Year from Queenstown.
• Renee Wright joined friends Jason Reeves and his wife.
• Newlyweds Jane Clifton and Trevor Mallard saw in the New Year with candles, thanks to a power cut.
• Eric Watson was at Ellerslie Racecourse celebrating the start of 2015 with his horse Palace Rock taking to the track yesterday.
• Martin Crowe, who is battling terminal cancer, saw in 2015 with his wife, Lorraine Downes, who declared her love and gratitude to her "soulmate".
• Rhys Darby saw in the New Year with fireworks, Kiwi-style.
• And hard man of rugby Liam Messam had a nana night in Hamilton with his family, joking that he's too old for New Year's Eve shenanigans.
'Vampire' star enjoying NZ sun, sand and surfer
Brad Werner and Nina Dobrev posted Instagram pics of a Bali holiday they shared in July, but Brad insists they're just good friends.
Nina Dobrev, the glamorous star of American television series Vampire Diaries has been secretly holidaying on Waiheke Island this week with friends, including Kiwi surfer and part-time model Brad Werner, with whom she has been romantically linked.
The pair, who posed in each other's arms at Mudbrick Vineyard, are understood to have met last year in Thailand, where they shared a love of sun and surfing.
In July, they holidayed together in Bali, Indonesia, posting pics on Instagram displaying an enviable bikini body and a ripped six pack.
American gossip website Just Jared tracked the Bulgarian-Canadian actress to New Zealand this week, revealing she had chosen to be Downunder to see in the New Year, but didn't explain what was the pull.
Sources say Werner, who lives in Kaitaia and owns an insurance advisory company, has been secretly dating 25-year-old Dobrev on and off. "He has talked about her a lot, but we didn't realise she's that famous," said a friend. "He said he was dating an American TV star. Good old Brad."
Werner didn't return our calls, but he said through his agent that he is "just good friends with Nina" and she's "choosing to keep a low profile in New Zealand".
The part-time model has shown the Hollywood starlet and her friends a good time, taking them to Piha's rugged black-sand beach and Ponsonby wine bars.
Dobrev, who is with American pals Morgan Beau and Riawna Capri, is lapping up the Kiwi sunshine.
Ten days ago, she was snowboarding with family members and celebrating a white Christmas.
5 Best holiday pics
1. Selfie sticks are all the rage, but All Black Jerome Kaino is leading the way and taking them underwater. Taking a deep breath, he took to the pool with daughter Milan and a friend, sporting squinty eyes and a thumbsup.
2. Home and Away star Jessica Grace Smith has embraced her Kiwi roots this summer, hugging a matai in the Hemi Matenga Scenic Reserve on the Kapiti Coast and eating fish and chips in Dannevirke, her childhood town. But she gained major local cred when she posed with her folks and adopted Kiwisms. She's not in Summer Bay now! Jandals? Check. Togs? Check. Pounamu necklace? Check. "Chur"? Check. Flowering pohutukawa photobomb? Priceless.
3. The Key kids are on their annual summer family vacay with the olds. Destination: Maui holiday home. But before the cool breeze of Hawaii beckons tomorrow, Max and Stephie have been taking in the sights of Hollywood. There have been expeditions to Santa Monica Pier, shopping in Beverly Hills ... and dressing as Ewoks at Disneyland for a little brother/sister bonding.
4. All Black Malakai Fekitoa has not let the summer break deter him from exercise. He has taken the press-up to a whole new level and adopted a style Hugh Hefner would be proud of - with a bikini blonde on his back. It's benching like a boss, he reckons.
5. Adventurer Harrison Young climbed the Franz Josef glacier and took this impressive selfie. GoPro declared it "Photo of the Day".
