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South Island, New Zealand

Experience our beautifully unique country

From the peak of Aoraki Mount Cook to the sandy beaches of Caroline Bay, in rolling hill country, sweeping plains and braided rivers, the Central South Island of NZ is fresh, vibrant, forward-looking and full of surprises. Canterbury offers high mountain peaks and glaciers, alpine hot pools, lakes and rivers, the ocean with magnificent beaches and some of the world's rarest marine life, huge braided rivers snaking across broad plains and rolling green hills

Easy to reach, uncrowded and set in a stunning natural environment, it offers business people, students and new residents a warm welcome, a great lifestyle and the promise of a bright future. Those lucky enough to already live here enjoy more time with family, escape from city stresses, real opportunities for career or study ...and a place where strangers are still greeted with a smile. Step outside, and so many recreational options beckon that the hardest part is choosing where to start.

Wherever you go there is the chance to enjoy a warm welcome, alluring arts and crafts, imaginative cuisine coupled with exciting wines as well as the unparalleled beauty of the plains, rivers and mountains. And the realisation that the people who make up Canterbury are one of its most enticing qualities.

Within the Central South Island, Aoraki Polytechnic offers five campus locations: Timaru, Christchurch, Ashburton, Oamaru and Dunedin.

Regional information

Regional highlights