The free-to-visit Aigantighe Art Gallery (pronounced ‘egg-an-tie’) houses a wide collection of artwork and sculptures scattered across its grounds. South Canterbury Museum provides history buffs with a rich insight into the region and its people, including the legend of Richard Pearse, a young pioneer who built an entire aircraft in his shed in 1903. For those interested in the area’s Māori significance, Te Ana Māori Rock Art museum includes an interactive exhibit and exciting ramble into remote farmland to observe caves and rock art. Finish your cultural excursions with a visit to Pleasant Point Museum and Railway, albeit a 20-minute drive from Timaru, it has ‘steaming days’ where you can ride a restored steam locomotive.
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Timaru
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Timaru may be the second largest city in Canterbury but there’s a distinct ‘no worries, no hurries’ sentiment here. Visitors are encouraged to meander along Caroline Bay Beach, complete with obligatory ice cream, and a peruse of the Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden. Find out how beer is made and meet the Clydesdale dray horses on a tour of the DB Draught Brewery, then admire the town’s fluttering of Victorian and Edwardian buildings constructed from local volcanic bluestone. Centennial Park is Timaru’s main mountain biking area. The small valley was once a quarry but is now a mountain bike mecca.
Venture a little further afield to Temuka, where Temuka Pottery Shop is a highlight, or Waitohi which boasts a memorial to daring aviator, Richard Pearse.
TOP TIP
ALIGN YOUR TRIP WITH THE CHRISTMAS PERIOD AND YOU’RE IN FOR A TREAT. THE ANNUAL TIMARU CARNIVAL FRONTS THE BEACH FOR A FULL TWO WEEKS FROM BOXING DAY.
