Waikato

Dateline 09-09-09 was celebrated with particular significance in New Zealand today, marking exactly two years out from the opening game of Rugby World Cup 2011.

As New Zealand bursts into spring colour, an event-filled calendar and the forecast of a long hot summer promise to banish winter blues.

The smallest and rarest species of dolphin, the Hector’s dolphin, is undergoing a population boost due to conservation work at the dolphin sanctuary at Banks Peninsula.

Environmentally-aware tourists interested in off-the-beaten-track travel are monitoring progress on New Zealand’s national cycleway project, an ambitious project that’s due to begin development in November 2009.

Tolkien fans fascinated by the world Peter Jackson captured on film during his Lord of the Rings trilogy continue to travel New Zealand searching for the real Middle Earth.

Colourful garden festivals and events throughout New Zealand during 2009.

Background information on the host towns and cities for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

Thirteen host towns and cities in different New Zealand regions will help fill the 'stadium of four million' promised by the New Zealand Rugby Union for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Rare and endangered New Zealand birds - including takahe, kiwi and kaka - are among the first introduced inhabitants of the new Maungatautari Ecological Island.

In the heart of the King Country (Te Rohe Potae) and nestled in the greater Waikato region of the Central North Island, visitors will find a wealth of natural wonders, many of which lie underground amidst hundreds of caves.