CANNABIS GROWERS BASK IN SPOTLIGHT

WHANGAREI - Green, but not clean - that was the twist to New Zealand's
pristine image that two Northland growers wanted to show the world.

The men led a BBC travel show crew to a cannabis plot in the bush. The
show, which has just screened in Britain, has upset expatriate New
Zealanders, who say it shows the wrong image of the country.

But the cannabis growers, tracked down by the New Zealand Herald yesterday,
were proud of an "unforgettable" contribution to tourism.

They agreed to take the BBC crew to their patch because the cannabis
segment would make the "honest and authentic" tourism programme stand apart.

The half-hour A Rough Guide to New Zealand featured just a few minutes of
the trek in the bush last November.

The two men wore balaclavas to conceal their identities and the crew and
journalist Dimitri Doganis were made to tape over their sunglasses and
travel at night so they would not know where they were being taken.

After the show screened, New Zealanders complained to the Tourism Board in
Wellington and London.

Other subjects covered included bungi-jumping, fashion designed Karen
Walker and the America's Cup.

The growers said the crew were impressed with the bush and the 150 cannabis
seedlings, worth up to $40,000 when mature. "They even got to hear a dawn
chorus and kiwi. They were quite blown away."

The Mayor of the Far North, Yvonne Sharp, said the growers could have badly
damaged the image of the area and had dubious motives.

"They just wanted to thumb their noses at authority."

She doubted that the show would attract any tourists.