Summer Report for Tuesday 29 December 2009

9:50 AM.Bruce and Gwen Levick work as educational advisors in Kirakira, a city in the Solomon Islands as part of a year long assignment with Volunteer Service Abroad. Audio

9:41 AM.A few weeks back he packed his rucksac and headed south to have a go at climbing Mount Aspiring near Wanaka. Audio

9:30 AM.Dave Dobbyn has been now entertaining New Zealanders in those good old kiwi summer concerts for thirty years - first as part of DD Smash and then as a solo performer. Audio

9:28 AM.Where the surf's a bit quiet but at least the sun has been shining. Audio

9:25 AM.The perfect sound to listen to while watching the first glimmers of sun come up on a new decade. Audio

9:20 AM.Locals at the remote holiday spot of Cathedral Cove in the Coromandel are upset that the Department of Conservation has allowed an icecream stall to be set up there. Audio

9:16 AM.Part of the Flat Top Hill conservation area near Alexandra in Central Otago has been ravaged by fire. Audio

9:10 AM.A regional wing of al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the failed Christmas Day attack on a U.S.- bound passenger jet, saying it was to avenge American attacks on the group in Yemen. Audio

8:47 AM.Entomologist Allen Heath. Audio

8:38 AM.The one wheelers are taking over not just city streets but also its main athletics track and mountain bike tracks. Audio

8:34 AM.Grab a rod and line as we're off fishing with Mike Rendle from "Fishing Coast to Coast" magazine. Audio

8:29 AM.Could shellfish at your favourite spot be wiped out by the disease that's killed 80% of cockles at the largest beds near Auckland? Audio

8:26 AM.An update from the RNZ sports team. Audio

8:17 AM.A victims advocacy group says too many offenders see community work sentences as a soft option. Audio

8:15 AM.Dunedin Police have issued descriptions of two men sought after a woman was assaulted on two separate occasions at her Argyle Street home on Sunday night. Audio

8:10 AM.It's taken a New Zealand yacht and crew to break the four year stranglehold by an Australian team on the Sydney and Hobart race. Audio

7:46 AM.New Zealand, Cape Maria van Diemen, Three Kings Island, Tasman Bay, Abel Tasman Park, Murderers Bay: with Peter Dowling, revising editor of AW Reed's dictionary of New Zealand place names. Audio

7:38 AM.Just three years ago the Overlander train journey was on the brink of being axed. Audio

7:35 AM.The Caroline Bay Carnival in Timaru runs until the tenth of January and has loads of entertainment on offer for all the family. Audio

7:24 AM.An update from the RNZ sports team. Audio

7:20 AM.The 15th International Unicycle World Championships began with an international parade down Wellington's waterfront yesterday. Audio

7:16 AM.Australia's also getting its share of the bad weather with four days of at times torrential rain bringing flooding to parts of north-western New South Wales. Audio

7:13 AM.Campers are being warned to watch for rapidly rising river levels as a front moves on to central New Zealand, bringing rain, high winds and a drop in temperatures. Audio

7:10 AM.Over the Tasman they're calling it a masterful victory by skipper Neville Crichton and it's broken the four year hold on the race by Australian boat Wild Oats Eleven. Audio

7:00 AM.New Zealand takes line honours in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Severe weather warnings for New Zealand and floods in Australia. The 15th International Unicycle World Championships began with an… Read more Audio