Best surf spots in Canterbury

Christchurch's home beach and the friendliest place in the city to learn, where soft sandy peaks roll into the sheltered Scarborough corner and a right-hander wraps off Cave Rock when the tide fills in.

The benchmark break over the hill from Sumner, a hollow beach break with reef peaks at either end that turns on genuine barrels and draws the best surfers in Christchurch when it is firing.

A long, fat, wally left point that peels down a big boulder beach on the wild southern side of Banks Peninsula, drawing a froth of locals on the days a clean southerly swell wraps in.

The swell magnet of Banks Peninsula, a powerful sand bottom beach break facing due east off the very end of the headland that hoovers up Southern Ocean swell when half of Canterbury is flat, and pays back the long gravel drive in spades.

A forgiving sandy beach break 30 minutes north of Christchurch, where you can pick your own peak along kilometres of open shore. The friendliest weekend session on the North Canterbury coast.

Christchurch's everyday surf beach, a long sweep of sand where the iconic pier reshapes the current into the city's most reliable sandbanks and peaks march away in both directions.

Timaru's home break peels left off the end of Pātītī Point, a reef point with a steep, fast drop and the odd hollow section. A large swell window keeps it consistent, and the crew is small and welcoming.