Canterbury and South Island

Fancy a lifestyle where you can go skiing in the morning and surfing in the afternoon? That’s the type of variety you can experience in Christchurch and Canterbury. And it’s all so easy to get to!

Canterbury offers high mountain peaks and glaciers, alpine hot pools, lakes and rivers, the ocean with magnificent beaches and some of the worlds rarest marine life, huge braided rivers snaking across broad plains and rolling green hills.

To the east lies the open ocean and Banks Peninsula, featuring sheltered bays, sandy beaches, bush clad valleys, rocky coastline and high, wild places. Boating, tramping, a visit to the wineries and the French settlers’ harbourside village of Akaroa are key peninsula attractions.

To the west, past fertile plains and braided rivers, are forested foothills and lakes. Beyond them lie the tallest mountains in Australasia, the Southern Alps.

A journey north reveals green rolling hills, forests and long, empty beaches and whale-watching in Kaikoura An excursion to the south passes through farmland and crosses two of Canterbury’s rivers, ideal for fishing, whitewater rafting or kayaking. Mt Hutt, the premier commercial ski area close to the city, lies to the south west. Also available Is jet boating, horse riding, a round of golf or a balloon excursion.

Canterbury also has an excellent choice of first-class golf courses and green fees are extremely low by world standards. And being a coastal region Canterbury is full of people who love the water; sail on Lyttelton Harbour, wind and kite surf on the Estuary or take on the twisting rivers of Canterbury in a jet boat.

Wherever you go there is the chance to enjoy a warm welcome, alluring arts and crafts, imaginative cuisine coupled with exciting wines as well as the unparalleled beauty of the plains, rivers and mountains. And the realisation that the people who make up Canterbury are one of its most enticing qualities.