- Nelson
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New Zealand
Had a fantastic day. Went to several vineyards in the Waimea Plains. Beautiful scenary, amazing lunch at a vineyard then onto drink more (and more) amazing wines.
One of the last blue\brown collar communities in Nelson City, Victory Square is a 10 minute walk south of the city centre. The early signs of gentrification are just starting to show with an excellent cafe and sushi bar opening recently and some of the formerly run down colonial period homes being tastefully refurbished. The Square itself is a cricket pitch/ football field and is rumoured to have been location of the first rugby game in NZ. There is also a brand new children's playground.
The popular fish and chip shop serves a good meal for five bucks and the local pub (the Pickled Parrot on the Park) is a great place to meet some of the local characters (don't worry they are friendly!).
An annual Multicultural festival is also held in Victory Square.
A slice of real Kiwi life.
On the way to Bug backpackers, past the industrial wastelands and New World supermarket.
The home of craft beer in Nelson. The Free House serves ales from many local brewers (Mussel Inn, Founders, Renaissance, Twisted Hop, Monkey Wizard) in cosy and welcoming surroundings. Give the sweet fizzy stuff a rest and come and try some real beers. Food available.
95 Collingwood Street, Nelson
www.thefreehouse.co.nz/
For Ashtanga Yoga devotees you can have a week with John and Lucy Scott (senior Ashtanga Yoga teachers - he has taught Madonna and Sting) as your teachers at their beautiful retreat centre near Nelson for a non-celebrity price of £355 a week, accommodation included. Find a deal on a flight and this is almost affordable.
www.stillpointyoga.co.nz/
Nearest airport is Nelson and their retreat is only a 40 min drive through some great scenery.
This is quite possibly the most beautiful place on earth, nothing but golden sandy beaches, turquoise seas and flora and fauna to walk through. Sunsets, estuaries that will chase you across a flood plain.
You can choose to walk inland or by the beaches spending as much or as little time as you like there. Arrive by kayak or walk in, leave by water taxi admiring the splendor you have just tramped through. If you have not been there then go. Now.
www.doc.govt.nz/templates/PlaceProfile.aspx?id=38455
This is the Government website which is a little light on details but has the necessary details. It is on the South Island at the north tip near the ferry crossing.
A colourful and unique mix of stalls selling good crafts (not tat) from local people and excellent fruit, the area is famous for its orchards and veg, much of which is organic. The many alternative lifestylers make it a very chilled-out shopping experience.
Great place to buy gifts that you won't find anywhere else.
Off Trafalgar Street, Nelson city centre, South Island
It's a fantastic cafe and deli on the wharf in one of the most picturesque spots you can imagine.
Everything is locally produced and smoked in-house, from tomatoes to fish to meat, you name it they smoke it. The café is on the wharf itself so you sit with the water gently lapping beneath your feet.
www.smokehouse.co.nz
Sheds 2&3, Mapua Wharf
Nelson Bays
Golden Bay is a unique and gorgeous area hidden away right at the northwestern tip of the South Island, and could just be the country's most complete destination.
It is sandwiched between two national parks (Abel Tasman and Kahurangi - lots of walking and adventure options) and stretches back toward the mountains from a strip of coast with loads of different beaches: from golden sands and perfect swimming (e.g. Tata Beach, Paton's Rock) to the vast, wild, and often deserted west coast ones, such as the unmissable Wharariki. There are also mountains, rivers, springs, forests, caves, limestone cliffs etc.
Yet, not only is the scenery totally stunning and worth a visit for its own sake, but the various little settlements of the Bay (Takaka is the main town) feature a wonderfully characterful jumble of shops, cafes, restaurants and accommodation ranging from old school rural to laid-back contemporary, via quirky hippie/traveller (the place has long been a magnet for alternative lifestylers).
You will be spoiled for choice for food and drink whether you want to chill out with a perfect coffee and cake and watch the world go by (or the sea - there's even a cafe based on an old (moored) boat of Jaques Cousteau's, scoff fish and chips by the water (Golden Fries in Takaka is tops, and the sea a five-minute drive away), drink a nice cold pint of award-winning beer brewed onsite at the Mussel Inn, or savour the delicious nightly set-menu at the Sans Souci Inn.
There are plenty of cheap camping and backpacking options to be had and a good selection of mid-range, although if you want to splash some cash there are also some seriously luxurious places to stay. Just make sure you book accommodation ahead during high season (December-February), as the most popular places fill up fast.
And finally, make sure you save some time (and money) for dropping into the legions of home-based studios and galleries dotted all over the area, as the natural beauty of the area has long made it irresistible to artists and craftspeople.
Listing all this, I just can't wait to go back myself!
From Nelson head to Richmond and take State Highway 60, through Motueka and then over the Takaka Hill. Follow the signs for Takaka and/or Collingwood - there is a well-stocked information centre on the left just as you arrive into Takaka which can sort you out with maps, brochures, bookings and knowledgeable advice.
Watson's Way, run by Pat and Paul, is a clean, welcoming hostel in the little village of Renwick bang in the middle of Marlborough wine country.
Toast and jam is provided for breakfast, there's a nice lounge with a television. Bikes are available for hire ($10 if you're staying at the hostel) and Pat will offer tips for the best route around the wineries and which ones to visit for tastings.
On SH6/SH63. Blenheim is the nearest town.
Rabbit Island's a fantastic, huge beach which all of the locals go to (I'm from Nelson). Loads of room to spread out for lounging, beach cricket, safe swimming, and huge picnic areas under the pines.
Past Richmond on the road towards Motueka/Abel Tasman.
It's just lovely here. They have useful things like free internet access which is very handy, and it's clean and everything's new which is always nice, but the reason I'm recommending it is the lovely calm atmosphere and the good people that tend to stay here. Anthony and Steph who run it are great and do a great job in making this a welcoming, friendly sunny place to stay.
There is no denying that Abel Tasman National Park, lying to the west of Nelson is beautiful all year-round, but during the New Zealand winter months of June, July and August it is at its most tranquil and crowd-free. Hike the Abel Tasman Coastal Track and for three days see virtually no-one, experience clear blue skies during the day, and stay in empty, but cosy cabins under the vast star-filled night sky.
Stop off at the Awaroa Lodge for a hot chocolate and a game of Scrabble before wandering down to a wide, white sandy beach free of both sandflies and any human life. Afterwards, rest your weary legs during a trip to the tiny cinema in nearby Motueka. Sofas, chairs, footstools and freshly filtered coffee are the order of the day here.
www.doc.govt.nz/Explore/002~Tracks-and-Walks/Great-Walks/Abel-Tasman-Coast-Track/index.asp
I highly recommend walking along the Maitai River. This river runs from the top of the Maitai Valley to the port where the river goes into the sea. The walk is most pleasant from the Trafalgar Street bridge (which is at the bottom of the main street in town) up to the start of the Maitai Valley and takes about two hours. It goes through some of the residential areas of Nelson and is a great way to see how Nelsonians live as well as being a bit of a nature ramble. The path is paved some of the way and is gravel for other parts of it. It is also used as a bike path but cyclists will generally give way to pedestrians.
Begins at the Trafalgar Street Bridge
Is this your business?Search Been there
