Judge warns family as he hears pleas over the murder of a three-year-old boy.

Federated Farmers said it welcomed the Government's decision to decline the sale of Lochinver Station, near Taupo, to China's Shanghai Pengxin Group.

A man and woman charged after the death of Taupo preschooler Moko Sayviah Rangitoheriri have had the charges upgraded from assault on a child to murder.

A Taupo man who killed his partner in an "unprovoked and cowardly" hammer attack has told the woman's daughters he was enjoying prison.

Cyclist Jane Farrelly died after she was surprised by an oncoming truck and accidentally "wobbled" into its path, a coroner has found.

A man has been shot in the stomach in Taupo in the early hours of this morning.

The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter winched a 46-year-old man from the scene of the forestry accident late this afternoon.

The family of a toddler who died from injuries he suffered in an alleged assault are still in shock.

An address in Taupo has been contained as police investigate the death of a three-year-old boy.

Australasia's biggest lake offers plenty to see and do, writes Elisabeth Easther.

Motorists are being urged to take care while driving with severe black ice affecting roads around the country.

A 13-year-old boy has gone missing and police are appealing for the public to help find him.

A 63-year-old man is in Waikato Hospital with serious head injuries after falling down a bank in Taupo last night.

Huka Lodge's owner is appealing a High Court decision that ordered him to pay US$25m to his former business partner.

A man has appeared in Manukau District Court facing charges of bestiality and indecent assault of various animals.

Two high-flying Alexes have been in the legal headlines in the past week: Huka Lodge owner Alex van Heeren and former Heart of the City boss Alex Swney.

An anti-violence group has called for the country to take a lasting stand against domestic abuse following the killing of a Taupo mother.

A post-mortem examination is being held in Auckland today to establish the cause of death of 47-year-old Katrina Rose Drummond.

Elisabeth Easther enjoys the grotto and more at a lakeside retreat in Taupo.

The first time she attempted a skydive, London woman Gwendolyn DeSilva heard the engine cut out and had to make a daring mid-air escape before watching the plane plummet.

The engine of a skydiving plane, which is suspected to have failed over Lake Taupo, will be sent to Canada this week for analysis.

The pilot of a skydiving plane which suffered a suspected engine failure over Lake Taupo was on his first day of flying unsupervised when he made the call to abandon the aircraft.

Skydive instructor on his escape from the plane that nosedived into Lake Taupo this week - and how he felt jumping out of a plane today.

'I survived a fricking plane crash. Nope, not even kidding.' One of the survivors of the Taupo skydive plane crash is glad to be alive.

The type of New Zealand-built aircraft involved in yesterday's skydiving crash has never been in an accident due to a mechanical error before, its maker says.

"Exiting a plane at low altitude to get out and activate parachutes and have them open normally and land safely is amazing."

Every ski run is an act of raw go-it-alone courage.