Christchurch Information

Click below for information on Christchurch and Canterbury:

• Basic Geography 
• Climate
• Monthly Temperatures
• Wildlife

Basic Geography

Christchurch is the largest city in New Zealand's South Island, and the chief city of the Canterbury region.  It has a population of 340,000. 

Christchurch city itself is generally flat.  It lies on the coastal fringe of a broad alluvial plain.  Three physical features however make it an attractive city for locals and visitors:  the Port Hills;  the coastline;  and the city's rivers.

Extinct volcanoes on the doorstep

The Port Hills are on the south side of  Christchurch.  They mark the start of the hill country of Banks Peninsula.  The peninsula is the prominent thumb protruding into the Pacific Ocean halfway down the eastern side of the South Island. 

Banks Peninsula is the eroded remnant of several basaltic 'Hawaiian'-type volcanoes, active 12 to 6 million years ago, but now long extinct.  Lyttelton and Akaroa harbours are fine examples of erosion craters, now invaded by the sea.  The peninsula is a very picturesque blend of high craggy hills, deep valleys running down into long bays, pastureland and patches of forest.

Rivers in  Christchurch

Two small spring-fed rivers thread through the city:  the Heathcote and the Avon.  The latter meanders very prettily (and confusingly) through the city centre. 

The two rivers flow into a large estuary on the city's eastern side - feeding grounds for a range of wetland and wading birds, including some of the world's great long-distance migrators.

Within easy reach of the mountains

If you travel in a north-westerly direction from Christchurch across the plains, you will encounter the first 'foothills' after 50 kilometres (30 miles).  However you need to travel a further 100 kilometres (60 miles) through the mountainous Canterbury high country before you reach Arthur's Pass, one of the few road and rail passages through the main range (or 'Main Divide') of the Southern Alps. 

The Southern Alps are the dramatic result of a collision between the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates.  Some of the most rapid tectonic uplift in the world is cancelled out by equally rapid, massive erosion in the mountains, and there is plenty of evidence of that.

From the Southern Alps, a further 100 kilometres or so north-west will bring you to the wild Tasman Sea on the South Island's West Coast.  This is a far cry from the manicured gardens and gentle streams of Christchurch.

Christchurch weather:  the only certainty is change...

Rule number one for visitors to Christchurch:  pack for all weather and temperatures.

The weather's changeability shouldn't take visitors by surprise - just look at New Zealand on a world map to see why.  The islands are smack in the path of an endless procession of anticyclones, depressions and fronts that march across the south Pacific Ocean, usually from the west. 

Don't let this put you off.  New Zealand has an equable, temperate climate.  Christchurch itself is the driest of New Zealand's main cities.  Just don't be surprised if you get all four seasons in a day.

The nor'wester:  Christchurch's signature wind. 

You can tell that a nor’wester is coming by a glance at the weather map.  Look for a depression approaching the South Island from the west (as they normally do).  The leading edge is a very humid airflow from the north-west, moving from the Tasman Sea on to the West Coast of the South Island. 

The rising, cooling air dumps its moisture as rain - an awful lot of rain - on the West Coast and the Southern Alps.  With all of its moisture depleted, the wind continues eastwards across the Canterbury plains and roars into Christchurch as the warm, dry nor'wester.  This is the New Zealand version of the dry Fohn wind of Norway and the Chinook of North America.

The 'rain shadow' effect in Canterbury is one of the most pronounced in the world.

In a single 24-hour period in November 2006, over 300mm (12 inches) of rain fell in the Cropp valley on the western side of the Southern Alps (by comparison, Christchurch and London both get around 650mm of rain per year).  In that 24 hours, the same wind brought a dry, mild spring day to Christchurch, with not a drop of rain. 

The southerly wind:  have your jacket handy

When a depression and cold front moves across the South Island, the weather in Canterbury can change abruptly from a warm nor'wester to a cold southerly, bringing frigid air and rain straight up from the Antarctic Ocean.  If you see ominous clouds massing over the Port Hills, have your jacket handy!

At times like this, the 'rain shadow' works in reverse:  while it is wet in Christchurch, the West Coast is enjoying a clear, sunny day.

Christchurch  temperatures - monthly

Click here for a weather forecast for Christchurch.

Christchurch and Canterbury Wildlife

Imagine if you had set foot in Canterbury a thousand years ago (say, around the time of the Battle of Hastings, 1066), before humans arrived in New Zealand.  You would have witnessed a unique fauna, dominated by an extraordinary assemblage of birds which had evolved for millions of years in the absence of land mammals. Many were flightless, some were very large (including the moa, one of the largest birds ever known), while tiny wrens scuttled around the forest floor behaving much as rats and mice do elsewhere in the world. 

Humans, both Maori and European colonisers, have put paid to much of that.  Hunting, habitat destruction and the introduction of mammals such as rats, stoats and possums, has seen many native bird species go extinct, or become scarce. 

Forest wildlife

You should still see plenty of native birds on your visit to Canterbury and elsewhere in New Zealand.  In the forest, look out for fantails, robins and tomtits, which often approach closely when humans pass by, disturbing insects. Listen out for the trill of the grey warbler, or the melodious call of the bellbird and tui.  The largest forest bird that you are likely to see is the kereru or wood pigeon, which can sometimes even be seen in Christchurch city.  The nearest wild kiwi to Christchurch are at Arthur's Pass, where they can sometimes be heard calling at night.

Native geckos and skinks are also often seen in forests and open country.

Introduced mammals are common in New Zealand's forests.  These include deer, pigs, stoats, hedgehogs and rats.  At night you have a good chance of seeing Australian possums. 

Open country wildlife

In open country, you may see the NZ falcon, or the Australasian harrier - you are most likely to see the latter snacking on road kill.  In alpine areas of the South Island, including Arthur's Pass, look out for NZ's alpine parrot, the kea.  It is a very charismatic, intelligent and rather mischievous bird.

In open country and in cities, European visitors will see many familiar birds which have been introduced to New Zealand:  sparrows, blackbirds, thrushes, starlings, finches, skylarks and many others.

Rabbits and hares are commonly seen - another unfortunate animal introduction to New Zealand.

Coastal and marine wildlife

The coasts and estuaries in Canterbury have a wide range of birdlife, including gulls, terns, shags, cormorants, stilts, herons and oystercatchers.  There are also various migratory waders, most famously the eastern bar-tailed godwit which migrates all the way to northern Alaska to breed in the northern summer. 

White-flippered penguins (and rarely, the yellow-eyed penguin - this is better seen further south) also roost in some places on the Canterbury coast.  They may sometimes be seen in the water during the Akaroa harbour cruise.

New Zealand fur seals are often seen basking on the coast of Banks Peninsula, but are more common on the Kaikoura coast, further north.  Occasionally sea lions and even sea elephants are seen.

The highest profile animal in Canterbury waters is the rare Hector's Dolphin, the world's smallest marine dolphin.  They are an inshore, coastal species, and are usually seen during the Akaroa harbour cruise.  North of Christchurch, off the Kaikoura coast, pods of hundreds of dusky dolphins can often be seen. 

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