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Photo: Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A smaller park than Orana, with a focus on New Zealand species including kiwi in a natural environment. The site also houses Ko Tāne replica Maori village which offers cultural performances and hangi dinners.
Willowbank Wildlife Reserve is a wildlife park and nature reserve in Christchurch, New Zealand.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
A world-class Antarctic experience with simulated polar weather, Hagglund All-Terrain Vehicle ride, penguins, extensive exhibits about Antarctic science missions, café and gift shop.
Scenic flights from 20 min to 3 hours.
Mona Vale Garden Park
Elizabethan-style riverside homestead with gardens.
Dean's Bush
The last remaining forest remnant on the Canterbury plains is in Christchurch city. If your time is limited in NZ, this is a great way to experience an example of the country's native forests. The circular track passes under tall kahikatea trees, and there is a diversity of small trees, shrubs, climbers and ferns. Christchurch's oldest house, Dean's Cottage (built 1843), is adjacent. Five minutes drive from central city and easily accessible by bus.
Dress code (jeans now allowed). You get a free meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) if it is your birthday (booking essential).
30 hectares of exotic and indigenous plants and trees wrapped in a loop of the picturesque Avon River and linking to the 160-hectare Hagley Park. These put the "Garden" in the "Garden City", and the combined total with Hagley Park makes them the second largest inner city park in the world (after New York's Central Park). A new visitor centre and cafe opened in 2014.