Canterbury

Canterbury, Kaikoura

Heading to New Zealand? Love the coast, love art, love the mountains? You’ll absolutely love Canterbury.

Canterbury is a region in the southwestern part of New Zealand. It is made up of plains (The Canterbury Plains) and mountains. Christchurch is listed as its main city and Canterbury is, by far, New Zealand’s largest region.


Christchurch - The Garden City

Christchurch, Canterbury’s largest city, is known as New Zealand’s “Garden city” because of its magnificent botanical gardens. And it’s not just the flora filling the place with life; as there are also many festivals, contemporary museums, modern shopping centers and well-maintained tourist attractions.

If you love tranquil sceneries overlooking the sea, you’re up for some visual surprise at Christchurch since most of the city’s parts are perched flat at a few meters above sea level.  And since it’s filled with bountiful flora, from afar, the city looks like a modern place swallowed by a rainforest. It’s uniquely attractive; like it’s modern, but nature-inspired.

For places to visit, don’t miss the Cathedral Square, a Gothic Revival masterpiece at the heart of the city. Climb up its long stairwell to get a nice view of the entire city and to see the interiors of age-old architecture preserved since nineteenth century. Other must-sees include the Neo Gothic Arts center, Ballantynes for shopping, the Avon river, and their local repertoire of tasty cuisine.

And the gardens, don’t forget the gardens.


Kaikoura - Flora and Fauna Wonders

Need to unwind with playful sea animals? Go whale watching, crayfish hunting, dolphin swimming and seal watching at Kaikoura.

Kaikoura is a little town by the sea famous for their crayfish. In fact, the literal English translation of Kaikoura is “to eat crayfish”. But of course, there’s more to this place than the crayfish. Kaikoura is a marriage of the mountains and the sea, offering a brilliant view of the alpine panorama. If you walk along the peninsula walkway, you’ll see many bird and seal colonies too.

With a small population, Kaikoura is still one untouched treasure waiting to be seen ...and returned to.


Timaru and Artistry

In Timaru, you can get to visit the South Canterbury Museum, which is the main museum of the region. There are numerous geographic and environmental exhibits here; you’ll specifically love the Maori rock art that proudly rests here.

Another art-related tourist attraction here is the Aigantighe, which is the third largest museum in the South Island. It holds a very wide collection of different masterpieces from Europe, Asia, New Zealand and the Pacific, with some dated all the way back from 16th century. You might also love its sculpture garden.

Timaru might strike you now as a major art hub, but there’s more to Timaru than just that. It is also famous for the Bay Area’s skating rink, golf course and regular musicals. Carnivals also open during the Christmas season, and extend up to the wee days of January.  And don’t you miss the Timaru botanical gardens, they’re big on roses and pristine tree ferns.


Excitement at Hanmer Springs

Hanmer Springs never runs out of guests; and when the holidays start to creep around the corner, its population balloons. If you’re up for some fun activities, you can come to Hanmer springs to go bungee jumping, bush walking, mountain biking or alpine touring. Wait, there’s skiing too! If you’re up for that, you can ski at Hanmer Springs ski area or at Mount Lyford.

Hanmer springs is big for pampering as well. They have thermal pools and spas which offer cutting edge facials and relaxing massages. Take a little trip to this Canterbury paradise as a breather from your daily drill!

Now, because of the things that you can do at Hanmer Springs, it may sound like a lot of work to go to. However, don’t you worry about transportation because Hanmer Springs may be easily reached through a daily shuttle bus service which travels from Christchurch (the largest city in Canterbury) and back.

Those are the top must sees at Canterbury.  New Zealand has always been big on keeping their country clean, green and very tourist-friendly. Get to see for yourself how serious they are on this by taking time to visit this lovely place. Scour for many accommodations and transportation options online. Surely you’ll find a handful of choices to make your vacation as fun as it should be. Just remember that when you finally find time to head out to New Zealand, don’t forget to include Canterbury and its many exciting tourist spots in your itinerary.