South Island Attractions

Fiordland National Park occupies the SW corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 14 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of 12,500 km², and is a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation. Road access to Fiordland is restricted to the Milford Road (SH 94), which runs N from Te Anau, skirting the edge of the park before entering it close to the headwaters of the Eglinton River. From there it crosses the NW corner of the park, reaching its terminus at Milford Sound. S of Te Anau a smaller road links to Manapouri. A minor road links Doubtful Sound with the western edge of Lake Manapouri via the Wilmot Pass. Light aircraft and helicopter services link with Milford Sound, which also has a small boat marina. The park is a popular destination for alpine climbers and especi...

Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand, reaching a height of 3,754 metres (12,316 ft). It lies in the S Alps (the mountain range which runs the length of the South Island) and is a popular tourist destination. It is particularly a favourite amongst mountain climbers. Aoraki/Mount Cook consists of three summits lying slightly south and east of the main divide, the Low Peak, Middle Peak and High Peak, with the Tasman Glacier to the east and the Hooker Glacier to the west. The settlement of Mount Cook Village (also known as The Hermitage) is a tourist centre and base camp for the mountain. It is 7 km from the end of the Tasman Glacier and 12 km south of Aoraki/Mount Cook's summit.

Milford Sound is a fjord in the SW of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. The beauty of this incredible landscape draws in between 550,000 and 1 million visitors per year. This makes the sound one of New Zealand's most-visited tourist spots, and also the most famous New Zealand tourist destination, even with its remote location and the long journey from the nearest population centres. Almost all tourists going to the sound also take one of the boat tours which usually last between 1–2 hours. They are offered by several companies, departing from the Milford Sound Visitors' Centre. There is also the option of extended overnight cruises on Milford Sound. Tramping, canoeing and some other water sports are also possible. A small number of companies also provide overnight boat trips. There is otherwise only ...

Doubtful Sound is a very large and naturally imposing fjord (despite its name) in Fiordland, in the far SW of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound. There are three distinct arms to the sound, which is the site of several large waterfalls, notably Helena Falls at Deep Cove, and the Browne Falls which have a fall of over 600 metres. The steep hills are known for their hundreds of waterfalls during the rainy season. Access to the sound is either by sea, or by the Wilmot Pass road from the Manapouri Power Station. Most areas of the sound itself are only accessible by sea however, as the road network in this area of New Zealand is sparse or nonexistent, as is the human population.

The Franz Joseph is a 12 km long glacier situated in Westland National Park on the W Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Together with the Fox Glacier 20 km to the S, it is unique in descending from the Southern Alps to less than 300 metres above sea level, amidst the greenery and lushness of a temperate rainforest. The area surrounding the two glaciers is part of Te Wahipounamu, a World Heritage Site park. The river emerging from the glacier terminal of Franz Josef is known as the Waiho River. The glacier area is one of the main tourist attractions of the West Coast, with around 250,000 visitors a year. Guided and unguided walks up to and onto the glacier are possible. The latter require some specialised equipment, namely ice axes and crampons that latch onto a sturdy boot. As the walking part of any tour up to the glacier takes a long time, and ends at the first icefall (a sort...

The Fox Glacier is a 13 km long glacier located in Westland National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It was named in 1872 after a visit by the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Sir William Fox. Like the nearby Franz Josef Glacier, it is one of the most accessible glaciers in the world, with its terminal face an easy walk from Fox Glacier village/Weheka. It is a major tourist attraction and about 1000 people daily visit it during high tourist season. Though people are told not to, some go beyond the barriers and climb without guides onto the glacier, whose rapid advance creates dangers of sudden ice and rockfalls. Fox Glacier township/Weheka, 6 km away from the glacier, functions mainly as a service centre for tourists, though it also services the local farming community, which had been its main focus until the 1990s (though tourism started a...

The Christchurch Art Gallery, with the formal name of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is funded by Christchurch City Council. It has its own substantial art collection and presents a programme of New Zealand and international exhibitions. The gallery opened on 10 May 2003, replacing the city's former public art gallery, the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, which opened on 16 June 1932 and closed on 16 June 2002. The Māori elements of the name are explained as follows: Te Puna honours waipuna, the artesian spring beneath the gallery and Waiwhetu refers to one of the tributaries in the immediate vicinity, which flows into the River Avon. Waiwhetu may also be translated as ‘water in which stars are reflected’.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum or Air Force Museum of New Zealand as it is now known, is an air force museum located located at Wigram, the RNZAF's first operational base, in Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand. It opened on 1 April 1987, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the RNZAF, and is primarily a museum of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, its predecessor, the New Zealand Permanent Air Force and New Zealand squadrons of the Royal Air Force. The Air Force Museum of New Zealand's mission is to preserve and present the history of New Zealand military aviation for commemoration, learning, inspiration and enjoyment. The museum holds the national collection of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The collection includes objects covering the early days of New Zealand military aviation both prior to World War I and during this major conflict, the int...

The Christchurch Botanic Gardens, located in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand are botanical gardens founded in 1863, when an English oak was planted on 9 July 1863 to commemorate the solemnisation of marriage between Prince Albert and Princess Alexandra of Denmark. The Gardens sprawl over an area of 21 hectares and lie adjacent to the loop of the Avon River next to Hagley Park. The Christchurch Botanic Gardens have a variety of collection of exotic and local plants of New Zealand. Some of the attractions of the Gardens include: The Herb Garden (started in 1986) has several plants of culinary and medicinal value (see Herbalism). The Rose Garden has more than 250 varieties of roses. Collections of plants from all around the world including Asia, North America, Europe, South America and South Africa. Cunningham house- a large Victorian glass house cont...

The Canterbury Museum is a museum located in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand in the city's Cultural Precinct. This small provincial museum was established in 1867 and has since grown in size to encompass New Zealand's diverse natural and human heritage. The Museum has become a widely-renowned and an internationally-visited institution. The Museum has more than two million collection items and specialises in the stories of early Maori, European settlement and Antarctic exploration. The original building is registered as a "Historic Place - Category I " by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. The museum sustained some damage to its facade during the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, but remains structurally sound. An estimated 95% of the collections were unharmed. The statue of William Rolleston, located at the front of the museum, toppled off its ...

Ferrymead Heritage Park is a museum in Christchurch, New Zealand, housing a number of groups with historical themes, the most frequent of which is transport. Formerly known as Ferrymead Historic Park, it was founded in the mid-1960s by a number of groups, local government bodies and other interested parties. It is in the Heathcote Valley, at the site of New Zealand's first public railway.

The International Antarctic Centre is located in the suburb of Harewood, Christchurch, New Zealand, close to Christchurch International Airport. It is one of the major tourist attractions of the city. The Centre is home to the New Zealand, United States and Italian Antarctic Programmes and comprises administration offices, warehousing, an American/New Zealand clothing store, a post office and travel agency, the Antarctic Passenger Terminal and the Visitor Centre, now called 'The Antarctic Attraction'. It is for this last item that the centre is best known, as it forms a significant tourist attraction. 'The Antarctic Attraction' consists of Antarctic exhibits, a café, and bar. The centre operates a Hagglund Ride around the centre's land. This is aimed mainly at children, however is an educational tool for all ages, to display the mobility of the Hagglund. The Hagglun...

Orana Wildlife Park is New Zealand's only open-range zoo, located on the outskirts of Christchurch. It opened in 1976, and is owned and operated by the Orana Wildlife Trust, a registered charity. The Wildlife Park is the largest wildlife reserve in New Zealand which houses animals in their natural habitats with few barriers or fences, permitting visitors to see them up close and feed the gentler species.

Cadbury World is a visitor attraction created and run by the Cadbury chocolate company. Two locations exist: Birmingham, United Kingdom and Dunedin, New Zealand. Cadbury World in Dunedin is located in the Cadbury Factory site at 280 Cumberland St, close to the city centre near the Octagon. This is one of the largest factories in Dunedin that also offers tours and has become very popular with tourists visiting Dunedin. In May 2008 renovations were carried out inside the Cadbury World Visitors' Centre. The attractions which had existed since the opening were taken out, and new areas were added, including an Aztec-themed room and Old England room. Unlike the Cadbury World in Birmingham, it offers guided tours around the manufacturing area of the factory. The Dunedin Cadbury World offers three different tours: the Factory Tour, the Shortened Tour, and the Centre Tour. The Factory To...

Speight's is a brewery in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is famous for its promotional branding based on being 'a real southern man' and being 'the pride of the south'. Speight's also gave rise to a series of Speight's Ale Houses across New Zealand. The brewery offer daily tours daily at 10AM, noon, 2PM. Children under 15 require adult supervision. The brewery has been a Dunedin landmark since its founding in 1876. The guided tour takes you through the Speight's brewery, sharing the heritage and culture of beer, from the Babylonians to today. The tour's finale is a 25 minute beer tasting. You must be 18 years old to join in on the tasting.

Carisbrook is a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it has also been used for other sports such as cricket, football, rugby league and motocross. Carisbrook has also hosted a Joe Cocker concert and frequently hosted pre-game concerts before rugby matches in the 1990s. In 2011 Carisbrook will be closed, being replaced by Forsyth Barr Stadium at University Plaza in North Dunedin. Floodlit since the 1990s, it can cater for both day and night fixtures. Known locally simply as "The Brook", it has been branded with the name "The House of Pain", due to its reputation as a difficult venue for visiting teams. Located at the foot of The Glen, a steep valley, the ground is flanked by the South Island Main Trunk Railway and the Hillside Railway Workshops, two miles southwest of Dunedin city centre in...

Larnach Castle is an imposing mansion on the ridge of the Otago Peninsula within the limits of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, close to the small settlement of Pukehiki. It is one of a few houses of this scale in New Zealand. The house and its grounds are regularly open to the public. The Larnach Castle gardens are one of only five gardens nationwide to have been given the rating of "garden of international significance" by the New Zealand Gardens Trust. They were the first gardens in the South Island to be given this award; the only other garden in the South Island with this ranking is also in Dunedin - Dunedin Botanic Gardens.

The Dunedin Botanical Gardens are located at the northern end of central Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. They are located close to the University of Otago and one of the city's most historic cemeteries, the Northern Cemetery, on a spur of Signal Hill and on the river plain immediately below it. These two parts of the gardens are known simply as the upper gardens and the lower gardens. The location of the gardens makes them popular with University students, as they lie between the University and the mouth of North East Valley, which houses a substantial proportion of the city's tertiary students. The Gardens - New Zealand's oldest - were established in 1863 on a site surrounding the Water of Leith now occupied by the University of Otago. After extensive flooding in 1868, the gardens were moved to their current site in 1869.[1] The name of the former site is still record...

Orokonui Ecosanctuary, called Te Korowai o Mihiwaka in Māori, is an ecological island wildlife reserve being developed by the Otago Natural History Trust in the Orokonui Valley near Waitati, New Zealand, 20 km to the north of central Dunedin.