Within easy walking distance from the holiday park you will find summer swimming, fishing and recreation at Caroline Bay, excellent walking tracks, the Aigantighe Gallery, the South Canterbury Museum. Together with main national store chains, the city has a wonderful range of boutiques, specialist shops, cafes, bars and restaurants. The city is a central South Island hub, on the main route to Dunedin, Christchurch, to the Mackenzie Country and the Southern Alps. Timaru is a major port city, located 160km south of Christchurch and 200km north of Dunedin. The Timaru District has a population of 42,867 people (2006 census) which includes a prosperous agricultural hinterland with links to smaller rural communities such as Pleasant Point, Temuka, and Geraldine. The town of Waimate is about 40km to the south on the road to Oamaru and Dunedin. Timaru exists largely because the basalt reefs along the town’s coastline formed a natural break to the big Pacific surf, making it sheltered enough for ships to anchor. Timaru, Te Maru in Maori, means ‘place of shelter’. The name is also believed to relate to Maru, a chief of the South Island Ngāi Tahu tribe.