This child-friendly Hanmer restaurant has a lot of drawcards: from its outdoor dining, pool table and excellent cocktails to the stonegrill and mix of locals and tourists milling around. Lambs fry is a firm favourite with locals and some served with mashed potato, salad and bread. The stonegrill is extra special as it arrives cooking on the table! The ribeye is a 300gm steak and if you feel hungry, upgrade to surf n turf ad get a skewer of jumbo prawns. Amazing.

This is not only famous for its locally brewed beers … but its menu is pretty decent too, including premium dry aged beer with béarnaise sauce. The staff will help you pair your steak with a cask-conditioned beer that suits your taste. Definitely the best English-style pub in Woolston!

For an amazing experience of the High Country, Terrace Downs is more than just a golf course and luxury resort. The Terrace Downs cafe has a spectacular fire place and is open from breakfast through to dinner. On the menu are some excellent lamb and beef options (as you would expect from the High Country) including a Prime Canterbury Ribeye Steak which comes served with fries and side salad,
 or potato mash with steamed vegetables and topped with sweet onion jus. Delish!

From the owners of Le Bon Bolli and The Crumpet Club comes Bamboozle, an oriental fusion restaurant. The Northern Chinese meals and spicy and flavoursome. From the menu choose from a good selection of beef and lamb meals including Barbequed skewed lamb fillet in Mongolian spices and Chinese vegetables and Japanese baked sea salmon steak on a crisp, fresh teriyaki inspired salad

Busy every day of the week, Blue Rooster is a very popular café / restaurant. Not only is the customer service excellent, décor inspired, but the menu is pretty great too! The rosemary scented lamb at $17.50 is amazing and comes with a ratatouille dressing and mixed salad. Still talking of lamb, the lamb shanks are moist, tender and served with parsnip puree.

This popular local cinema seats over 400 people a night. Screening films and playing host to touring performing artists, NBS Theatre always makes for a fun and entertaining evening.

Hokitika’s only cinema is a historical gem. Screening all the great blockbusters as well as a considered selection of independent films, Regent Theatre also has a great selection of drinks and snacks to enjoy during your movie of choice.

This cinema opened in 1935 and has been screening films to an eager and movie-loving Greymouth audience ever since. Live shows, opera films and Hollywood films are what you should expect on a night out at Regent.

A restaurant that has had its roots in Hokitika since 1869, Café de Paris is owned by French native Pierre who has made this place truly magical. A fancy European restaurant with great West Coast hospitality.

Grab a bite to eat before heading to Regent Greymouth cinema at Union Hotel. Fill up on some of the tastiest fish and chips in town, or grab a healthy salad. This is a classic West Coast pub hotel!

A very special and unique cinema set in the little town of Clyde, this is the most popular place on a Saturday night! There are many things to love about Clyde Cinema particularly the fact that there is no extra charge for 3D movies!

Located right next to Clyde Cinema, this bistro is the place to go either before or after the movies for a spot of dinner. Good honest food in a classy setting, Clyde Bistro has a great wine list, woodfired pizza and a cosy fireplace.

This community cinema in Alexandra is superb. The boutique cinema has it all from major blockbusters to local arthouse films. Food and refreshments are on hand to enjoy during your film and if there isn’t a drink you like then the staff will order your favourite beverage in for you!

The epic Monteith’s Brewery Bar is a nationwide restaurant and bar chain, and can luckily be found in Alexandra. This restaurant is a great spot for a pint and a hearty pub-style meal before heading to Central Cinema for a film.

A unique Alexandra restaurant, head to Nosh Nosh Swigs before or after a film at Central Cinema. The stylish restaurant has the best burgers and chips in town, and they have an amazing selection of boutique craft beers!

Brought to you from the Passengers and Co team, Town Tonic is fine dining restaurant with excellent cocktails and friendly staff. A great spot for a little pre-movie dinner, especially if you’re heading to Hoyts to catch a film for the International Film Festival.

This popular restaurant and beer bar is the perfect spot for a bite of dinner before heading over to Academy Gold Cinema for a film. Grab a delicious pint of Belgian beer and enjoy the sport on the big screen (if you so desire).

Once home in the central city of Christchurch, Academy Gold Cinema now is located in buzzy little suburb of Sydenham. The plush red velvet décor, reasonably priced wine and great selection of films makes for a great night out.

This blockbuster cinema in Timaru is the place to go for any big Hollywood film. Fun for the whole family, there’s an excellent range of cinemas, from kids flicks to R18 films. The snacks are pretty good too!

Located in one of Timaru’s most iconic buildings, grab a slice of pizza, cup of coffee or a piece of cake before heading to the movies at Movie Max 5. If you’re taking the kids to the pictures these school holidays then Zest has a really good kids menu for them to enjoy.

Have a family off-road adventure with On Yer Bike! The fully-guided tours are great for the young and old, and include quad bike tours, two-seater off-road go-karts and military personnel carriers. The tours go through native New Zealand rainforest so expect to gasp with delight of the West Coast’s natural beauty.

A great place to take the family on a rainy day, Hokitika Museum tells some fascinating stories about the town and West Coast. There are audio-visual facilities to further incite the imagination – also learn about the gold rush, whitepaiting and pounamu through photographs and objects.

What better way to spend a day with the family than exploring beautiful rain forest. Discover the amazing glow worms amongst the country’s largest unmodified cave system. A must try for any nature-loving kids and adults.

The rain forest is something that needs to be preserved and cared for, so get your kids learning about the importance of nature and the environment on the Nile River Rainforest Train. The small open sided carriages will take you on a 90 minute journey through the forest, so make sure you bundle up warm for the occasion.

A very new museum for Westport, Coaltown Museum tells the stories of the pioneers to the West Coast. Learn about the interesting characters who paved the way and made Westport the town that it is today. With an obvious focus on the coal industry, this museum is more interesting than you’d expect!

Cromwell has a fascinating history – with the Clyde Dam and Lake Dunstan built, the original town was drowned, and in its place a whole new town centre. To keep the memory of old Cromwell, a replica town was built. This is an excellent place to explore with the family and the Central Otago Farmers Market is held here every Sunday.

A historical home and a tourist hot spot, Olveston is an experience that will be with you for life. Explore the home of the Theomin family which is now a museum that perfectly preserves the life and times of the family from 1906 to 1966. The whole family’s imagination will run wild as you try to imagine life in the Edwardian period.

Discover the largest private collection of toys and vehicles in the Southern Hemisphere at the National Transport and Toy Museum. With over 50,000 toys on display the kids’ minds will be blown! A fascinating and enjoyable museum, this is a treasure trove for the young and old.

The amazing Elm Wildlife Tours gives you and the family an opportunity to see sea lions, fur seals and blue penguins up close. The highly recommended and awarded experience is a thrilling way to reconnect with nature and wildlife.

Paint balling maybe a little too extreme for your family activity so why not give Xtreme Indoor Reball a go. This is a game like paintball but without the paint, pain and mess! With inflatable barriers you don’t have to worry about your little critters getting hurt.