Lake Clearwater:
This lake and the nearby lakes Camp, Heron and Emma are situated in the superb alpine scenery of the Foothills. They offer a variety of watersports like

Salmon- & trout fishing
Windsurfing
Kayaking
Jetskiing & waterskiing

For more water adventures go on a Whitewater Rafting Tour on the Rangitata River or a Jetboating Tour on the Rakaia River.


Mt Somers Conservation Area:
Highlight is the Mt Somers Track (former Mt Somers Sub Alpine Walkway, 17 km, 1-2 days), that links the popular picnic spots of Woolshed Creek and Sharplin Falls. There are serveral walking tracks and easy tramping tracks from 30 minutes to 4 hours amongst historic coalmines, impressive volcanic formations, a deep river canyon in the Mt Somers Conservation Area.

There are many ways to explore this unique subalpine area:

Nature & Birdwatching Tours
4WD-Tours
Balloon- & Helicopter-Flights
Mountainbiking
Horse Trekking
Mountain & Rock climbing
Rock hounding for agate stone


"Edoras" or Mt Sunday:
Not far from Mt Somers Village the capital of Rohan was built in the year 2000, where a significant part of the "Lord of the rings" was filmed. Although the LOTR buildings are all gone you can still look for footprints on a Edoras Tour. And there is still an old villager in the Mt Somers Holiday Park... - ask for David!


Skiing & Snowboarding on Mt Hutt:
In Winter you can find the best and most developed ski and snowboard area in the southern hemisphere, with a bungy jump into the powder of Mt Hutt. Nearby Mt Potts offers Heliski and Snowcat Ski. Other ski fields are located in Temple Basin, Craigieburn, Broken River, Mt Cheeseman, Porter Heights and Mt Olympus. In summer the Canterbury Highcountry is a great place for bush-walking and examining a unique flora: 130 species of alpine plants can only be found on Mt Hutt.


Mt Somers and Mid-Canterbury offer a lot more:

Tennis, Squash & Swimming Pool in Mt Somers Village
Golf (Mayfield Golf Club, Methven Golf Club, Terrace Downs)
Canterbury Garden Tours, e.g. Dunhampton Lily Fields
The Minerals to Art Festival (in March every second year)
Plains Vintage Railway and Historical Museum in Tinwald
Ashburton Aviation Museum
Ashburton Vintage Car Club & Museum
Lynn Historical Woodworking Museum