The NZ Government has called for restraint after an anti-whaling protest vessel and Japanese harpoon ship collided in Antarctica yesterday.

The crew of a NZ trimaran harassing Japanese whalers have been rescued after a collision between their boat and a Japanese ship.

The crew of a NZ trimaran harassing Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean had to be rescued after their boat was allegedly rammed and sunk by a Japanese ship, anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says.

One of the world's earliest aeroplanes, entombed in ice for decades, has been discovered in Antarctica.

Twizel's Kylie Wakelin has become the first New Zealand woman to make it to the South Pole by trekking.

Murray McCully has urged experts meeting in Wellington to recommend ways of preventing a tourist boat disaster from ever happening in Antarctica.

A memorial trip to the crash site of the 1979 Mt Erebus air disaster has been postponed tonight after strong winds prevented helicopters from landing.

The Govt will look into a way to allow the families of those killed in the Erebus disaster to visit the crash site, John Key says.

Businessman Mike Pero says he feels like he is being persecuted for trying to help the Erebus crash victims' families travel to Antarctica for January's 30 year anniversary.

Concerns over Mike Pero's planned Erebus charter flight have forced the businessman to reconsider going ahead with the trip.

The daughter of one of the Erebus disaster victims has criticised Mike Pero's charter flight to the crash site as in "poor taste".

Mike Pero says John Key gave him no negative feedback about his plan for a charter flight for families of Erebus victims, but the prime minister says details of the flight were not discussed.

Air New Zealand has acknowledged the "gaps and failings" after the Erebus tragedy 30 years ago.

The man who apologised over the Cave Creek disaster says Air NZ should have apologised for the Erebus air crash years ago.

EXCLUSIVE: Robotic "drone" spy planes flying by remote control could be used to patrol New Zealand's waters.

The father of a man who died in the Mt Erebus disaster says a plan to fly victims' families back to the site is a publicity stunt.