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Inspired by a couple of hours spent in the Botanical Gardens, you might fancy a stroll across North Hagley Park to their logical extension, the beautiful precincts of Mona Vale at 63 Fendalton Rd (grounds open daily Oct-March 8am-7.30pm; April-Sept 8.30am-5.30pm; free: guided tours Nov-March daily 9.30am & 1.30pm; $35). Originally part of the Deans' estate , the site became the property of the city in 1969 and is now tended by the Canterbury Horticultural Society. The gardens have majestic displays of roses, dahlias, fuchsias and irises, as well as magnolias, rhododendrons and herbaceous perennials. The Bath House has been converted for use as a greenhouse and the old homestead is open for lunch daily. You can rent a punt at the old homestead and enjoy the gardens from the river ($15 per person for 30min). You could hardly make a greater botanical leap than to wander ten minutes to the southwest to the suburb of Riccarton and Deans Bush (daily dawn-dusk; free), an area of native forest containing several 500-year-old kahikatea trees. The survival of this valuable area of forest is largely due to Scottish brothers William and John Deans, who came to farm the area in 1843 and somehow resisted the temptation to put all their property to immediate agricultural use. Today a concrete path navigates the bush, with signs pointing out the species that still grow here. By the northern entrance off Kahu Road, the gracious, Victorian Riccarton House (generally closed except for functions), hides the black pine Deans Cottage (daily 9am-5pm), the oldest structure on the Canterbury plain, built by the Deans brothers upon their arrival in 1843. This tiny affair is furnished as it would have been until the deaths of William (1851) and his brother (1854). Beyond Deans Bush, Memorial Avenue runs northwest to the airport where there are one or two attractions worth seeing. Much the most interesting is the International Antarctic Centre , Orchard Road ( www.iceberg.co.nz ; daily: Oct-March 9am-8pm; April-Sept 9am-5.30pm; $16), a well-presented and dynamic exhibit concentrating on New Zealand's involvement on the cold continent. Since the mid-1950s, Christchurch airport has been the base of the US Antarctic programme which sponsors over 140 flights a year to their base at McMurdo Sound, and the neighbouring New Zealand outpost at Scott Base. There's stacks here on Antarctic exploration and the fragile polar ecosystem with continuous video presentations, daily digital photos emailed from the ice depicting life at Scott Base, recordings of the current weather conditions, traditional and interactive displays and innovations such as the Snow & Ice Experience where you can don a down jacket and experience a snowy environment at -5°C, cooled further by a fan giving a wind chill of -25°C. Antarctic enthusiasts should leave time for the hourly Hagglunds Ride (Oct-March $20; April-Sept $15), a 45-minute jaunt in a genuine five-tonne tracked buggy. The centre also has the 60° South Cafe and Bar and one of the country's more imaginative gift shops. True fans of all things Antarctic can even pick up a free Antarctic Heritage Trail leaflet detailing connected sites around Christchurch and Lyttelton. Drivers can skirt around the northern perimeter of the airport - follow Russley Road then McLeans Island Road - to Orana Park , within the McLeans Island Recreational Area (daily 10am-5pm; $12), a well-organized zoological park containing a wide variety of native and imported animals, particularly from Africa. Volunteer guides are on hand, and highlights include endangered New Zealand bird species like kiwi and tuatara, and the chance to observe the feeding of lions and tigers from a treetop viewing balcony. Although nowhere near as exciting as Orana Park, the smaller and more intimate Willowbank Wildlife Reserve , 60 Hussey Rd (daily 10am-10pm; $12), has some good displays of native birds including a glass-free kiwi house (11.30am-10pm). To get there, ride bus #1/4 from Cathedral Square as far as the junction of Harewood Road and Gardiners Road, then walk northeast up Gardiners Road for five minutes or so before turning right into Hussey Road. Around twenty minutes' drive southwest of Hagley Park and accessible via Blenheim Road and Great South Road is Air Force World (tel 03/343 9532, www.afw.co.nz ; daily 10am-5pm; $10), located beside the former RNZAF base at Wigram. Among the two dozen aircraft you'll see the Dakota converted for use on the British Queen's state visit in 1953, and a WWII Dauntless that crashed in the Pacific islands of Vanuatu. Three flight simulators will keep the (big) kids happy, particularly the one simulating the WWII Mosquito as it engages in very realistic combat in the Norwegian fjords. Enthusiastic volunteer guides conduct free tours of the restoration and storage hangers (daily 11am, 1pm & 3pm); short flights in a Pitts Special stunt plane can also be arranged (20min; $195; booking essential). Buses #81 to Lincoln or #25 to Templeton, both from Cathedral Square, drop off about five minutes' walk from the entrance. Anyone desperate to see a shed full of nicely restored old cars - Jaguar, Mercedes, Lancia and so forth - should continue a couple of kilometres further out to Dr Heins Classic Car Collection , 376 Great South Rd, Hornby ( www.classics.co.nz ; daily 10am-5pm; $5), where most specimens are only kept on display until sold.
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