Have a read of some of RNZ's latest upbeat news. Photo: RNZ
A beloved scooter returned after a decade, a Hamilton nurse in the latest Guinness Book of Records and a TikTok star set to make his debut as Peter Pan on the stage.
Read on for this week's feel-good stories.
Rider reunited with beloved scooter 10 years later
Photo: Supplied / New Zealand Police
Police in Papakura have helped reunite a rider with his beloved scooter, 10 years after it was originally stolen.
Senior Sergeant Clive Wood said officers had located a young person riding a scooter he had bought from Facebook Marketplace, which had been reported stolen from a property in Whangārei a decade earlier.
"Our staff contacted the owner after locating the scooter, which came as a huge surprise to him given the length of time ... he was extremely grateful."
Whangārei Fringe Festival sells out
A scene from Piss Off Peri. Photo: supplied
Much to the surprise of the play's creators all three shows at the Whangārei Fringe Festival have sold out of the 150 available tickets and festival organisers are fielding enquiries for more tickets.
Trish Hayward bought tickets to see the play with her husband Celvin Teixeira to start a conversation about her perimenopause symptoms.
"I feel like I now have a better handle on it, which to be honest I hadn't given it much thought," said Teixeira, following the play.
"I find it difficult to talk about and I thought this would be an easy way to broach the subject," Hayward added.
2025 Guinness Book of Records features Hamilton nurse
Jane Carswell Photo: Jane Carswell
Page nine of the just-published 2025 Guinness Book of Records features Hamilton endoscopy nurse Jane Carswell.
She cycled the length of New Zealand in 10 days, five hours, and 58 minutes, averaging 200km a day.
Carswellbattled headwinds across the Canterbury Plains, sheeting rain in the Waikato ("I had to wear five jackets to keep warm"), peak hour city traffic and close encounters with a flying hubcap and a possum.
Why did she do it? "I'm driven," she says. But there's another reason. Cycling has helped her navigate dark times in her life.
Lone rat running free on pest-free island killed
Photo: Department of Conservation/supplied
A lone rat on the otherwise pest-free paradise of Motutapu Island has been killed after months of running amok, in a sting costing ratepayers thousands of dollars.
The island in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf is connected to Rangitoto Island.
The Norway rat sparked a five-month search after it was spotted on a network of pest-control cameras in April.
Short film explores immigrant family connections
Jessica George, director of Puli and the Tiger. Photo: Supplied
Production has commenced in Wellington on Puli and the Tiger, a Tamil-language short film exploring how immigrant children connect with their elders and homeland through tradition and storytelling.
The film's director, Jessica George who is half-Indian, pays homage to the close ties she had with her grandparents when she was younger.
"I hope viewers think about their own grandparents... it's worth cherishing," she says.
Both George and scriptwriter Esteban Jaramillo-Ulloa were inspired by Studio Ghibli films, particularly their treatment of magical realism.
TikTok star making debut on the stage
Photo: Auckland Theatre Company
Theo Shakes, an actor, filmmaker and TikTok star, is set to make his main stage theatre debut as Peter Pan with the Auckland Theatre Company.
It's a full circle moment for the 22-year-old Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School graduate, who once was that kid "jumping off the edge of my bed trying to fly".
He's learned a lot already in his 22 years - once dreaming of an Oscar, he's now focused on enjoying the journey itself.
"'Cause that's such a destination thing, and, I don't know, sometimes that can be overwhelming anyway, like what are you meant to do once you win an Oscar?"
