From the silvery beaches of the coast to the jagged peaks of the Southern Alps, the Canterbury landscape is impossible to ignore. Big scenery is the order of the day - huge panoramas of ocean or mountains, great sweeps of pastureland and massive amounts of sky. The highest point of the region is the highest mountain in New Zealand. The spectacular 'Aoraki' Mount Cook stands at 3754 metres (Aoraki is Maori for Cloud Piercer). The submarine trenches off the coast of Kaikoura are thousands of metres deep, providing an ideal environment for the whales, dolphins and seals that live there permanently. © newzealand.com