If you drive north along the coast to Kaikoura you can get out and look at seals on some ledges just below you. If you drop a small pebble onto one you may discover that they can jump a lot higher than you would think, and that they have very bad fish breath.
I missed the earthquake in Christchurch by a couple of hours that day.
I think a drive and hike out to Farewell Spit is a pretty awesome place too. You may wish to visit the Abel Tasman National Park as well.
