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ashburton
 Ashburton
is an attractive town with stately trees, elegant gardens,
outstanding museums and superb fishing rivers brim-full of salmon
and sea-run trout.
The town is an important service centre on the banks of the
Ashburton River, a one hour drive south of Christchurch.
When the founding fathers arrived here, the vast Canterbury
Plains were an inhospitable semi-desert, whipped by dust storms
and divided by untamed braided rivers. The pioneers persevered
with irrigation schemes, and today Ashburton’s hinterland is
fertile and productive.
The people of Ashburton have created museums which feature local
history, arts and crafts. The Ashburton Museum and Art Gallery is
most impressive, with permanent exhibits on the town’s
history, irrigation methods and early brickworks factories. The
Museum of Woodworking has a large collection of antique
ornamental lathes. The Plains Vintage Railway Museum, Aviation
Museum and Vintage Car Museum are only open for limited hours but
are well worth a visit.
The Ashford Craft Village is a mini-mall with an assortment of
boutique shops and art and craft outlets, as well as pottery and
woodturning workshops. Nearby is the Domain, an expansive
parkland featuring European trees, manicured gardens and a lake.
A walkway enables you to ramble along the riverbank to the open
sea. Magnificent stands of 100 year old trees are to be found
throughout the town.
Ashburton draws keen freshwater anglers from all over the world,
to fish the braided channels of the Rakaia, Rangitata and
Ashburton Rivers. Huge salmon and sea-run trout are the quarry,
sometimes exceeding ten kilos in weight and perfectly
conditioned. The twisted braids of the Rakaia are spanned by the
country’s longest river bridge.
The town is a starting point for many outdoor adventure pursuits.
The Mt.Hutt ski field, a 20 minute drive away, is where you will
find some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the country.
Ashburton is an attractive and welcoming town in the heartland of
the fertile Canterbury Plains. It is well known as a place for
relaxing and unwinding.
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