Where to go in Top of the South

The coastal town of Kaikoura is one of the best places in the world for watching whales and dolphins. Offshore, the seabed drops rapidly to the kilometre-deep Kaikoura Canyon, a geographic feature that brings ocean mammals here in large numbers.

The deep inlets and drowned river valleys of the Marlborough Sounds are often described as ‘a little slice of Norway'.

A wonderful variety of world-class wine is the main reason people visit Blenheim, Marlborough's biggest town and the centre of the region's wine district.

To the west of the Marlborough Sounds is Abel Tasman National Park, another area of great natural beauty on the warm and sunny northern tip of the South Island.