Contents

COVER : Hidden in the lush West coast bush of the new Kahurangi National Park near Karamea lie a series of three spectacular natural arches. The largest is 200m long, 40m high, 50m wide - and impossible to photograph effectively. Honeycomb Arch is smaller, but of greater beauty.
CONTENTS - Features :
CHAINSAWS AND OSTRICH EGGS [Each June more than 100,000 visitors flock to the National Agricultural Fieldays at Mystery Creek south of Hamilton to ogle, and maybe buy, anything from a bulldozer to bubblegum];
YOU ARE HERE! SMALL TOWNS WITH BIG IDEAS [After the recession of the 1980s, many small towns are still fighting to stay viable, devising baits - often local icons made enormous - to snare visitors and their dollars];
GUTHRIE - SMITH OF TUTIRA [All his adult life Herbert Guthrie-Smith farmed Tutira, a great station in central Hawke’s Bay, with growing affection for not only this patch of land, but all New Zealand and its flora and fauna. He became a noted natural history writer and photographer and an early advocate for conservation];
THE FORGOTTEN ACRES [The ungrazed roughage at the heart of the Hikurangi Swamp north-west of Whangarei may not warrant a second glance for most of us, but to a patient observer it can yield an unexpected bounty of rich images and insights into the web of interactions that characterise nature];
PLANTING THE TRUE VINE [Building a new church complex in Auckland was a big event for the Tongan community, one marked by such ceremony and feasting as each new phase of the project was initiated];
KAHURANGI : OUR NEWEST NATIONAL PARK [In the north-west of the South Island a tract of wilderness is soon to become our 13th national park. Although the area’s current profile isn’t high, some consider it will rank behind only Fiordland in terms of natural assets, as well as size];
CONTENTS - Departments :
LETTERS; GEONEWS [Meningococcol epidemic]; WEATHER [carbon and climate]; SPACE [scaling down the universe]; MUSEUMS [Jackson’s magic kingdom - Museum of Automobilia, Sounds, Victoriana & Collectables]; BOOKS [The Private Life of Plants]; SALUTE; COMING UP [What’s in store]; MINI ADS;