{"title": "Canterbury Plains", "body": "
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The Canterbury Plains are an expanse of flat land stretching from the Pacific Ocean in the east, to the base of the Southern Alps in the west. From Christchurch to Timaru, the plains were once covered in forest and inhabited by the Moa. The region was prime hunting grounds for the Maori people who occupied the area in the 13th century.
When Europeans arrived in the 1800s the forest was turned into crop-producing fields with the help of irrigation from the many braided rivers.

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