Contents

COVER : Blue and gold colours scream “Otago!” from a fan’s face at an interprovincial rugby match between Canterbury and Otago at Carisbrook. The first match between these traditional rivals was played in 1878.
CONTENTS - Features :
RUGBY - JUST A GAME? [played by 165,000 and enjoyed in the stands and on television by millions, rugby is a major obsession in a country not known for its passions];
RIDING THE LONG STEEL ROAD [A tortuous steel thread more than 20 years in the making, the North Island Main Trunk Line still holds a fascination that roads just can’t match];
THE SACRED KINGFISHER [perched on a power line, then diving like a streak of lightning on some incautious creature, the turquoise kingfisher is one of those birds we are all familiary with but don’t encounter very often];
BIOCONTROL [Given a rising tide of public mistrust about the safety of man-made chemicals, can introductions of carefully chosen insects and other organisms take over the job of controlling the pests which threaten our produce and forests];
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF MANGERE ISLAND [This rugged sliver of land in the Chathams was burnt and grazed for decades, but nonetheless harbours a suite of rare and unusual creatures and plants];
CONTENTS - Departments :
LETTERS; BOOKS [Lessons from the dodo]; GEONEWS [Maui’s locust; pygmy whales; Neptune’s museum]; WEATHER [atmospheric studies]; SALUTE;