Visit Abel Tasman National Park, an area of stunning beaches and forests.

For wildlife enthusiasts, the East Coast include Kaikoura, famed for its year-round whale and dolphin populations. Enjoy walking around the English style city of Christchurch, admire the French colony of Akaroa and visit Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula, where royal albatross, yellow-eyed penguins and fur seals abound.

Across the middle of the island and the famous Southern Alps is the rugged west coast, where mountains, glaciers and fjords make up much of the landscape.