The first wave has reached the Chatham Islands, after a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit Chile overnight. An official tsunami alert remains in place for New Zealand's entire east coast.

A man narrowly avoided being hit in the head by a falling rock at Franz Josef Glacier and his partner suffered a broken foot after jumping a barrier.

Herald photographer Sarah Ivey recalls a trip to Lake Ellery in the deep south.

Dave Cade is pushing hard to keep didymo - or rock snot - out of Taupo waterways.

There was some sex, a little violence, home improvements and some intimate dining-in - it could have been any night of reality television but in fact these scenarios were being played out among the kotuku.