Phil Walter / Getty Images

People enjoy the muddy thrills and spills on a waterslide dug into a hillside in Waimauku on Feb. 23, 2013 in Auckland, New Zealand. Only 2000 people will have the honor of riding the water slides, with one measuring 650 meters long built by New Zealanders Jimi Hunt and Dan Drupstee, of the "Live more Awesome" charity this weekend. The world's longest slide will be open for only two days to  raise funds and awareness of depression.

Phil Walter / Getty Images

People enjoy the muddy thrills and spills.

Phil Walter / Getty Images

People enjoy the muddy thrills and spills on a waterslide dug into a hillside in Waimauku.

Nigel Marple / Reuters

The devastation in the suburb of Hobsonville is seen after a tornado went through the western suburb in Auckland, Wednesday, December 6, 2012. Three people were killed and several injured after an unusual storm, described by witnesses as a "mini tornado", hit New Zealand's largest city of Auckland on Thursday, toppling trees and ripping debris from a construction site. Read the full story.

Nigel Marple / Reuters

Rescue workers inspect the scene where at least two men are believed to be dead inside a truck at a building site in the suburb of Hobsonville after a tornado went through in Auckland on Wednesday.

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Sarah Ivey / AP

Firemen work at the scene of a helicopter accident in Auckland's Viaduct Basin, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011.

A helicopter installing a Christmas tree on Auckland's waterfront on Wednesday morning crashes in dramatic fashion, incredibly the pilot escapes serious injury. See the dramatic video footage below.

AP reports: Footage captured by Television New Zealand Wednesday morning shows the pilot slowly descending from about 25 feet (8 meters) when the chopper's blades appear to get caught in cables attached to scaffolding. The rear of the helicopter snaps and the pilot is tossed about as the helicopter smashes into the ground.

The television station reports that pilot Greg Gribble, who has 20 years experience, says he's "doing fine" after his ordeal.

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Bradley Ambrose / EPA

Heavy snowfalls blanket large parts of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, Aug. 15. Much of New Zealand was at a standstill after a rare weather front from the Antarctic dumped massive snowfall over huge areas of the country. The South Island took the brunt of the storm, though the capital, Wellington, at the foot of the North Island, had its heaviest snowfall in 30 years forcing road closures and flight cancellations.

The New Zealand Herald reports:

MetService head forecaster Peter Kreft told NZPA the polar blast was "of the order of a 50 year'' event and warned it could last for several more days.

"It's a once in many decades event. We are probably looking at something like - in terms of extent and severity, maybe 50 years,'' he said.

The level of snow that fell in Wellington had not been seen since at least the 1970s, he said.

Read more from The New Zealand Herald here.