Waimate is small, rural and home to a genuinely odd claim to fame: wild wallabies. They turned up over a century ago, settled in, and now bounce about the hills like they were always meant to be there. The town also takes its strawberries very seriously, with the big fruit by the road to prove it.

Beyond the novelties it’s honest South Canterbury farming country, quiet streets, white-tailed deer in the back blocks, and house prices that belong to another decade. For anyone after a slow life and a big section, it delivers.

There are 20 suburbs and localities across the district. This page puts them in one place so you can compare properly: who lives where, what it costs, how the school sits, and how far you really are from the bigger centres.

Wallabies, strawberries and proper rural quiet. Pick a suburb and see if Waimate’s your speed.