Kaikōura means 'eat crayfish', and roadside caravans near the town offer the seafood delicacy for sale. Kaikōura is also home to fur seals, dolphins, and - most famously - whales feeding offshore, drawn there by a massive underwater canyon less than 5 kilometres from shore. Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number sa-mp-090315-pm).

The vast Cheviot Hills farm, with its grand mansion and exotic gardens, was once one of Canterbury's largest properties. After owner William 'Ready Money' Robinson died in 1889, his daughters sold the estate to the government, and it was divided into 54 small farms and the town of Cheviot. Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number sa-d-00516-01-s1-pm).

A statue in Amberley honours military hero and local farmer Charles Upham, the only man to receive the Victoria Cross twice for courage under fire in the Second World War. Upham's physical strength and determination were honed by his days mustering sheep in the rugged Canterbury high country.

New Zealand's most English city, Christchurch was hit by devastating earthquakes in September 2010 and February and June 2011. In the February quake 181 people died. Over a quarter of the city centre's buildings - many of them historic - were condemned, and the statue of city founder John Robert Godley was toppled.

As the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates collide, they push up mountains - including the Southern Alps, one of the world's fastest-growing ranges. These dramatic South Island peaks are home to the cheeky kea parrot and native alpine flowers. They attract sightseers, skiers and climbers - including Everest conqueror Edmund Hillary, who learnt his mountaineering skills on their slopes. Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number sa-d-00502-01-s1-pm D502.1a).

New Zealand's longest bridge - almost 1.8 kilometres - spans the Rakaia River. A typical South Island braided river, the Rakaia was once a route for Māori heading to the West Coast in search of prized greenstone. Chinook salmon were released in the river in the early 1900s. New Zealand is the only place in the world where they have become established outside their native habitat.

Statues in Timaru commemorate several New Zealand heroes with local connections. Bob Fitzsimmons was a world champion boxer; athletics star Jack Lovelock won Olympic gold and broke the world record for the 1500 metres. Racehorse Phar Lap had a glittering career, mostly in Australia, while inventor Richard Pearse developed an early aeroplane. Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number T4183).

Nineteenth-century settlers were often keen to introduce exotic plants and animals to New Zealand - with mixed results. Australian wallabies and possums, common around Waimate, have become serious pests, and plagues of rabbits cause massive production losses for farmers. Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number sa-d-00709-03-s2-pm D709.3b).

The elegant buildings of Ōamaru were constructed from the local limestone, which is creamy in colour and easily carved. The town flourished from the 1880s, when an export trade in frozen meat developed at nearby Tōtara Estate farm.

In Māori tradition the remarkable spherical boulders on Moeraki beach are eel pots - or baskets of kūmara (sweet potato) washed ashore from the Ārai-te-uru voyaging canoe. To scientists the boulders are concretions, formed around 60 million years ago from sediment and calcite.