This monument to Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, the Hawaiian Olympic swimmer credited with carrying surfing to the wider world, stands at 213 Marine Parade on the New Brighton seafront and holds a 5.0 Google rating. Monuments of this kind reward a light touch: no tickets, no hours to keep, just a pause in a bigger day. Take a minute with the plaque rather than only photographing the figure, because the story is the point. Timing helps too; early morning or the golden hour before sunset flatters seafront statuary and thins the crowd to nothing. Regulars fold stops like this into a longer walk along the water rather than making a special trip. Set where Marine Parade meets the sand at New Brighton, it is an easy, worthwhile pause on any Christchurch day by the sea.