If it’s variety you want Canterbury has got it. Natural areas range from the mountains and tussock grasslands, to beech and podocarp forests, braided rivers, lakes, vast coastal wetlands, inland salt pans, geothermal areas, small islands and enclosed bay shorelines.
There’s also a variety of historic heritage on offer ranging from the Quail Island immigration barracks, to Fort Jervois on Ripapa Island, to rock drawings at Raincliff and Weka Pass, to lime kilns at Staveley and Godley Head military sites.
Mahaanui area features Otukaikino Wildlife Management Reserve that serves as both a living memorial/mau mahara and an outdoor classroom and Pōhatu Marine Reserve where Hector's dolphins, yellow-eyed penguins and other marine wildlife call home.
Home to Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park, the Aoraki area encompasses the sub-alpine and alpine environment found in the heart of the Southern Alps.
Learn more about Canterbury's native species by visiting the Raukapuka area. Whether you take a stroll in Hunter Hills or mountain bike in North Opuha, the area features an array of recreational opportunities.
Interested in seeing kakī firsthand? Or perhaps you'd like to see the kārearea/falcon in the Benmore Range? The Twizel area is rife with places to hike, mountain bike, horseback ride and view wildlife.
Explore the foothills, forests and peaks of the Southern Alps, and the rivers and streams that flow down from the mountains and across the Canterbury Plains.
A-Z of Canterbury places to visit.
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