Oxford, a rural town on the Inland Scenic Route 72, is the perfect place to appreciate the mountain scenery and seasonal beauty of the North Canterbury Plains. Named after the university city of Oxford, this farming town of 1,600 people, was a saw-milling centre until 1898.
Ohoka is only 15 minutes drive from Christchurch - one of the closest rural areas to the city. It sits on the extensive fertile plains between the Ashley and Waimakariri rivers, which are fast developing as specialist farms and lifestyle blocks.
Loburn is a peaceful rural area nestled under the foothills, on the Rangiora to Oxford road via Glentui. It lies near the junction of the Ashley and Okuku rivers in ‘Lifestyle block country.’
Cust is an attractive township on the Inland Scenic Route 72, half-way between Oxford and Rangiora. Route 72 is a popular travelling road between Geraldine and Amberley, which provides wonderful views of the Southern Alps and pastoral Canterbury.
Ashley is a quiet village on the banks of the Ashley River, just minutes away from its busy neighbour, Rangiora. The picturesque Ashley River looks very inviting on a bright summer’s day and locals make the most of the swimming holes and picnic spots along the willow-lined banks.
Kaiapoi, North Canterbury’s top river town, is located on S.H.1 just over the broad, shingle-strewn Waimakariri River from Christchurch. This principal town of the Waimakariri District occupies a strategic position, flanked by the river and fertile farm flats to the west and the great expanse of Pegasus Bay to the east.
Leaving Christchurch, head north across the pancake-flat, patchwork quilt of the Canterbury Plains, for a breath of fresh country air. As you pass over the long Waimakariri River bridge, you are entering ‘Lifestyle Country.’
The wide open Waimakariri beaches fronting Pegasus Bay, might just be North Canterbury’s best kept secret. Canterbury’s continental climate has great extremes, from the sizzling 30 plus Centigrade temperatures of summer to the cold southerlies in winter.
From downtown Auckland a fast ferry can whisk you over to Waiheke Island, the ‘Suburb on the Sea’. Waiheke has a special charm and seaside holiday atmosphere. The laid-back, independent island lifestyle epitomises the traditional Kiwi way of life.
‘The Mount’ is the colloquial term of affection for the volcanic cone that rises abruptly on the long sandy peninsula known as Mt. Maunganui. This icon for lovers of sun, sand and surf, symbolises all the diverse pleasures to be had at this Kiwi holiday ‘hot spot’.
In New Zealand the most striking near-desert experience you can have is on the road to Waiouru. State Highway One winds through a bleak windswept tussock plain called the Rangipo Desert. This is a unique alpine semi-desert, with the forbidding appearance of a wild desolate wasteland.
To experience the North Island’s ‘Alpine Country’ on the seismically sensitive Central Volcanic Plateau, there’s no better place to go than Turangi. Turangi has the pulse of this volcanic heartland, with New Zealand’s largest lake (Lake Taupo) on its front doorstep and the vast Tongariro National Park.
