NZ@Noon: Big plans for Zion park

Stories making headlines around the regions today include a spate of car thefts from Tauranga petrol stations and Whangarei's Kingdom Of Zion wildlife park has big plans for the big cats.

A woman was standing at a Tauranga self-service petrol pump when her car was stolen from right in front of her, police say.

Nearly 100 years ago a Hawke's Bay teenager embarked on an overseas adventure which clearly held some concerns for his parents.

The man they came to see didn't front, but the concert chamber at the Wanganui War Memorial Centre was almost full when the Internet Mana roadshow came to Wanganui on Saturday.

Wairarapa firefighters rescued one of their own from the roof of his car yesterday morning, after floodwaters took him off the road.

Whangarei's Kingdom Of Zion wildlife park could finally be a major tourist attraction and there are plans to turn it into a "world-class facility" for breeding and showing big cats.

Finally, Rotorua's winter festival is over and the city has lost the Raggamuffin festival to Auckland - but now the city can celebrate its first Tulip Fest.