Eyre River (New Zealand)

Swannanoa is a small village in Canterbury, New Zealand. It is located 35 kilometres northwest of the largest city in the South Island, Christchurch. The area has an estimated population of 1,040 with 288 pupils enrolled in the primary school. The population is slowly increasing due to new subdivisions being developed there and in neighbouring Mandeville North.

The Old Bed Eyre River is a river of the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It lies to the south of the Eyre River, into which it flows near Kaiapoi.

Mandeville North (commonly referred to as Mandeville) is a small village in the Waimakariri District of Canterbury, New Zealand. Due to new subdivisions being built in the area, the population has been slowly increasing, particularly after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The construction of the Mandeville village retail development began in late 2017 and was completed in early 2018. The village is named after William Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester who owned land in the area.

Mandeville Sports Centre is a sports ground and community park in Mandeville North, Canterbury, New Zealand. The park is home to 13 clubs facilitating archery, equestrian events, netball, rugby, tennis, cricket, dog clubs, bowls and squash. The ground held a single List A match in the 1990/91 Shell Cup when Canterbury played Wellington, which resulted in a 19 run victory for Wellington. A number of other sports are played at the complex.

McLeans Island is a rural area north and northwest of Christchurch city, and south of Waimakariri River.The area was an island in the Waimakariri River until the 1930s, when flood control measures and Great Depression work schemes blocked the south branch of the river which separated the island from the south bank. It was named for the Scottish McLean family, who established Waimakariri Station on the south bank in the 1850s. Allan and John McLean owned the land after their brother Robertson returned to Scotland.Part of the area is in Waimakariri River Regional Park, which contains McLeans Forest where there are walking, running and cycling tracks. Orana Wildlife Park is a zoo in the area.

Orana Wildlife Park is New Zealand's only open-range zoo, sitting on 80 hectares of land, located on the outskirts of Christchurch. It opened in 1976, and is owned and operated by the Orana Wildlife Trust, a registered charity. The aims of the Trust are to provide quality recreational opportunities for local people and visitors to Christchurch; conserve endangered native and exotic wildlife; educate visitors (especially children) about environmental and conservation issues; and support research relating to endangered animals. Orana generates over 95% of its income through gate takings and other trading activities. Fundraising is an essential focus; Orana must separately raise 100% of funds for all capital projects, improvements and animal transfers. Funds have been donated from a variety of sources, including philanthropic trusts, private donors and bequests. As of 2017, over $15M has been raised to develop the Park. All buildings and enclosures except the Great Ape Centre have been built in-house. Many local businesses have assisted in the Park's construction by donating materials, consultancy and equipment. In 2013 the park suffered a number of setbacks, including an ape escape, snowstorms and wind damage, and was forced to close its doors for 10 days.In 2015 Orana became home to New Zealand's only gorillas, with three males, including a silverback arriving at the park.

Eyreton, originally known as Eyretown, is a small village in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is named after Edward John Eyre, who at one time was the lieutenant governor of the South Island (then known as New Munster). It is a rural village located to the west of Kaiapoi, near the north bank of the Waimakariri River. Although a branch line railway called the Eyreton Branch existed, it never actually ran through Eyreton; its route from Kaiapoi to West Eyreton passed north of the village.

Ohoka is a small semi-rural township on the northern outskirts of Christchurch in New Zealand. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "place of the stake for a decoy parrot" for Ōhoka.A new subdivision proposed in 2022 would add 800–850 houses, shops and a village square to Ohoka. Some residents are campaigning against the subdivision.

West Melton Aerodrome (IATA: WML, ICAO: NZWL) is a small airport located in West Melton, Canterbury, New Zealand. West Melton Aerodrome is located just 6 nautical miles west of Christchurch International Airport. It is owned and operated by the Canterbury Aero Club.

Christchurch Airport (IATA: CHC, ICAO: NZCH) is the main airport that serves Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to the northwest of the city centre, in the suburb of Harewood. Christchurch (Harewood) Airport officially opened on 18 May 1940 and became New Zealand's first international airport on 16 December 1950. It is the second busiest airport in New Zealand, after Auckland and before Wellington by annual passengers, and the second busiest, after Auckland, by aircraft movements.Christchurch and Auckland are the only airports in New Zealand that regularly handle Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 aircraft. The airport is curfew free, operating 24 hours a day. The prevailing wind in Christchurch is from the north-east and to a lesser extent from the south-west, but the city is also affected by Canterbury's nor'wester foehn wind. As a result, the airport has two perpendicular runways: a 3,288-metre (10,787 ft) primary runway (02/20) oriented with the north-easterly and south-westerly prevailing winds, and a 1,741-metre (5,712 ft) secondary runway (11/29) oriented for use during nor'westers. The airport also has a third grass runway, parallel to the primary runway, for use by general aviation. To serve an increasing number of passengers, the airport has completed construction of a major terminal upgrade. The new construction's primary wing opened in 2011 and the upgrade was completed in 2013.

The Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) was a 80/20 joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to construct and maintain an airborne observatory. NASA awarded the contract for the development of the aircraft, operation of the observatory and management of the American part of the project to the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) in 1996. The DSI (German SOFIA Institute; German: Deutsches SOFIA Institut) managed the German parts of the project which were primarily science-and telescope-related. SOFIA's telescope saw first light on May 26, 2010. SOFIA was the successor to the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. During 10-hour, overnight flights, it observed celestial magnetic fields, star-forming regions, comets, nebulae, and the Galactic Center. Science flights have now concluded, after the landing of the 921st and last flight in the early morning of September 29, 2022. The project will continue to work with legacy data for a few years. On December 8, 2022, NASA announced that both SOFIA and the Boeing 747SP used to carry the telescope will be preserved and put on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.

Waimakariri River Regional Park is a regional park in the Canterbury Region of New Zealand's South Island. It covers 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) on the banks of the Waimakariri River, and is operated by Environment Canterbury.