There's more to this town than pretty parks and coastal walks, writes Susan Strongman.

A kayaker has been winched to safety after his craft capsized off the northern Taranaki coast.

A kayaker was winched to safety in Taranaki this morning after he capsized and could not get back in to shore.

A trip around Mt Taranaki is a magical experience.

Elisabeth Easther gets down to the disco beat of 'Poi E' with the Patea Maori Club.

An alleged sexual predator was arrested in Taranaki today by police working on historic crimes dating back to 1993.

Bystanders managed to lift the ute off the woman by the time emergency services arrived but her life was unable to be saved.

How did the 19th century murder of a vivacious young Englishwoman affect the invasion of a Maori pacifist settlement one year later?

In Taranaki, Elisabeth Easther finds a town with a playful history.

Wild weather has swept across the North Island causing flooding in Taranaki and forcing one Auckland family to evacuate their home.

Fonterra says it sets itself high environmental standards despite being fined $362,000 in two separate prosecutions for Resource Management Act breaches.

Dave Haskell's chance viewing of a fishing show may have been the difference between life and death.

A man who drowned after being thrown from a boat on the Waitara River mouth in Taranaki yesterday has been named by police.

A brave Taranaki dairy owner is refusing to shut up shop despite being assaulted and robbed for the second time in a year.

A bitter saga that has lasted more than four decades, cost about $20 million and divided a city will reach some kind of climax in New Plymouth over the weekend.

A woman and her 12-year-old daughter had been tramping in the Poukai Ranges, near Mount Taranaki, when they became stuck due to icy conditions.

Heavy rain is expected to drench the South Island tomorrow and then make its way up the country - possibly hitting the Whanganui and Taranaki region hard.

The driver of a truck has been pulled out of the cab uninjured after colliding with a train.

Red Cross is launching an appeal to help those affected by the weekend's floods - a disaster the organisation has labelled the worst to strike New Zealand since the Canterbury earthquakes.

The state of emergency has remained in place for Whanganui and Taranaki three days after flooding caused evacuations, slips, road closures and power cuts.

A Taranaki grandmother says she was shoved to the ground and handcuffed by police after she objected to being evacuated due to flooding.

Millions of dollars in Government relief will be pumped into the flood-ravaged lower North Island, as authorities warn it could take weeks to clean up.

Flooding caused road and bridge closures, cut power to homes and forced people to spend night in emergency accommodation or with friends and family.

Roads closed by extensive flooding and slips in the lower North Island are reopening tonight, but transport authorities are warning motorists to take care.

Three men have been charged over the death of a woman who got out of her car to move metal barriers blocking a state highway.

A man with a mouth "like an open sewer" who drove his neighbours off their rural block says he spends too much time driving to do community work.

Wild weather causes extensive damage in Taranaki and the storm is due to hit Auckland later this morning. See photos of the impact inside.

This South Taranaki town has some top-notch dining and several great museums.