Hutt City and Whanganui have been named as finalists for New Zealand's most beautiful city - after Hutt City was pipped at the post by Dunedin for last year's award.
The North Island centres - less than 200 kilometres apart from each other - will battle it out for the title at the annual Keep New Zealand Beautiful awards.
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"We are so pleased to see the great work from these regions who are striving to create sustainable and vibrant communities," Keep New Zealand Beautiful chief executive Heather Saunderson said in a statement.
She said the calibre of entries this year had been "fantastic".
Waihi and Hanmer Springs will battle it out for the title of New Zealand's most beautiful small town, after Waihi lost out to Raglan last year.
Keep NZ Beautiful says Waihi was selected as a result of the community's ongoing effort to keep the town clean.
Meanwhile there are two new finalists for the Most Beautiful Large Town; Cambridge and Pukekohe.
Finalists for the best loo are Invercargill's Colac Bay toilet, Bay of Plenty's Port Ohope Wharf permaloo, and Taupō's Spa Park.
"The Beautiful Awards celebrate environmental excellence and recognise positive actions taken by communities, businesses, schools, individuals and councils, in local and urban areas to protect and enhance their local environments," Keep NZ Beautiful says.
"Each finalist must demonstrate sustainable and environmentally conscious behaviours across four key areas; litter prevention and waste minimisation, community beautification, recycling projects and sustainable tourism."
Newshub.
