Lyttleton Harbour Lighthouse sits at 39 Gladstone Quay in Lyttelton on Banks Peninsula, and currently carries a 4.0 Google rating from its single review.
Lighthouses are attractions where the setting does much of the work. The tower itself is often open to visitors only on limited days, so many visits are of the exterior kind, and the reward is the position: a harbour mouth with ships coming and going and seabirds on the wind. The Banks Peninsula coast is exposed, so regulars bring a windproof layer and aim for late afternoon, when the light over the water is at its best. It also pays to check access before setting out, as opening hours at such sites are often narrower than visitors expect.
Set on the quay of a harbour that fills an old volcanic crater, this lighthouse makes an easy pause in a day spent around Lyttelton's waterfront.