User:W. Frank/Nelson (New Zealand)

Nelson is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island. Nelson is in a region often known as Nelson Bays or the "Top of the South" and is actually slightly north of the capital city of Wellington.

Nelson is the geographical centre of the nation and, together with Richmond, has a population of around 50,000 ranking it as New Zealand’s tenth most populous city.

It is surrounded by three National Parks.

Understand
Nelson is named after the British Admiral, Lord Nelson.

It is a beautiful coastal city set amongst some of New Zealand's most stunning scenery. With over 2,500 hours of sunshine a year, Nelson is also usually New Zealand's sunniest city! The city is the economic and cultural centre for the Nelson-Tasman region and offers an excellent range of shopping, eating and cultural experiences with an abundance of parks, rivers, beaches and nature trails to explore.

The Nelson region covers five distinct geographic areas:
 * The urban agglomeration of Nelson & Richmond
 * The highways of Mapua, Motueka, Moutere, through rolling horticultural land
 * The idyllic coastline of Abel Tasman National Park
 * The heart of the parks, Golden Bay between Kahurangi and Abel Tasman national parks
 * The alpine lakes and rivers around St Arnaud - Nelson Lakes & Murchison including Nelson Lakes and Kahurangi national parks

The Nelson economy is based on the ‘big four’ industries of seafood, horticulture, tourism and forestry. Port Nelson is the biggest fishing port in Australasia and there are also a range of growth industries, including arts and craft, aviation, engineering technology, and information technology.

Nelson is New Zealand's oldest city. (Although it was only proclaimed a Bishop's See and city under letters patent by Queen Victoria on 27 September 1858 and after Christchurch's city charter, Pakeha settlement had started in earnest in Nelson in 1841, a full nine years before the good ship Charlotte-Jane arrived in Christchurch on 16 December 1850.)

Nelson is the city where, if asked, most Kiwis say they would like to move to and has a small but rapidly growing Māori population. per capita, Nelson also has the highest settled population of people from Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, the Philippines and the United Kingdom in New Zealand. There are also large concentrations of settled refugees from Bhutan and Burma, in the Victory Square and Wood areas, including the largest population of Kayan (Yan Pa Doung in Shan or "Padaung") outside of the Golden Triangle. The Kayan Lahwi (some of whose high status women used to wear brass neck coils) were treated as a sort of "human zoo" before they left South East Asia because of their long ("giraffe") necks. All this harmonious ethnic diversity means that the shops and Saturday morning market (in Montgomery Square) are a great place to buy foods and delicacies difficult to find elsewhere in New Zealand.

The Top of the South region's tourism organisation is Nelson Tasman Tourism, which operates i-SITE Visitor Information Centres in Nelson City, Takaka in Golden Bay and in Murchison.

By bus
InterCity Coachlines is New Zealand's national coach company and operates over 150 services to more than 600 destinations nationwide. Daily services connect into Nelson from around the South Island.

Naked Bus stops in Nelson and offers $1 fares on most of their routes. Finding these fares can be difficult but rewarding.

By plane
Nelson Airport is the 4th busiest in New Zealand. It is serviced by Air New Zealand and Sounds Air.

Air New Zealand offer regular flights to and from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and other provincial cities. Sounds Air offers flights around the Nelson Bays and on to Wellington.

By boat
Frequent Cook Strait ferry services between Wellington and Picton with bus connections to Nelson.

By car
Two hours driving from Picton, 1.5 hr from Blenheim and 6 hr driving from Christchurch via either SH1 and Kaikoura or the slightly shorter and more scenic SH6 route over the Lewis Pass and via Murchison.

Get around


The original city centre, comprising the CBD and The Wood is small enough to walk around, but for access from the surrounding suburbs and around the sites and attractions of the whole city and region you'll likely want to rent a car, take a taxi, or have a fresh set of legs and a bicycle.

The City is serviced by a bus service which runs Monday to Saturday on four main routes: 1) Toitoi/Hospital, 2) Atawhai, 3) Brook/Maitai and 4) Washington Valley/Port Hills. Please see Nelson Bus Information.

For late night party goers there is also an excellent bus service which runs hourly until 03:15 from Trafalgar Street to Richmond.

By bicycle
Nelson has a network of cycle routes for leisure and mountain biking.

See



 * Christ Church Cathedral Nelson - a historic and often photographed Nelson landmark. Features iconic granite steps from Trafalgar Street to the Cathedral. Sunday Eucharist and Evensong services, usually with Choir.










 * Natureland, a relatively small and amateurish zoo. Good for children due to low fences and short walking distance around the zoo. Contains wallabies, monkeys, meerkats, otters, llamas, a small aviary and more.


 * Tahunanui Beach, one of the safest and finest family beaches in NZ. The ever popular and reported Beach Cafe lies adjacent to it for great food and drinks. Bus transport to and from Nelson available - see timetable.







Do





 * Visit the Nelson Market. It operates all year round in the Montgomery Square car park in the centre of Nelson on Saturday mornings from 08:00-13:00. Stalls overflow with local products - fresh organic vegetables, fruit and flowers, locally farmed organic salmon and many kinds of crafts including silk painting, jewellery, pottery, weaving and wood turning. There are also food stalls and many Nelsonians meet for a late leisurely breakfast at one of the many coffee stalls.
 * Visit the Nelson Market. It operates all year round in the Montgomery Square car park in the centre of Nelson on Saturday mornings from 08:00-13:00. Stalls overflow with local products - fresh organic vegetables, fruit and flowers, locally farmed organic salmon and many kinds of crafts including silk painting, jewellery, pottery, weaving and wood turning. There are also food stalls and many Nelsonians meet for a late leisurely breakfast at one of the many coffee stalls.


 * Take part in one of the Creative Tourism workshops: Art, Taste, Maori Culture or Nature.



Buy

 * Nelson Saturday Market Not just fruit, vegetables and goat cheeses are on sale; the sheer variety of sculptures, artisan furniture, bone carvings, pottery and forged blades are a testimony to the concentration of artists and craftsmen that choose to live in this, the sunshine capital of New Zealand and come to to chat and sell their wares. Not to be missed, but don't sleep in too late as the market is usually over by 14:00. Montgomery Square.



Eat
Nelson has a wide variety of excellent cafes and restaurants using fresh local produce. Nelson is the largest fishing port in Australasia, so the fresh seafood is always great!

For the best Fish and Chips within 10,000 miles (according to the Wikimapia author, click the highlighted link to see the exact location right next to Guytons Fisheries Ltd on Wakefield Quay ...)


 * Akbabas Turkish Kebab House (130 Bridge St, ☎ +64 3 548-8825 is one of Nelsons most popular take-away restaurants. They offer wicked veggie and meat kebabs that come wrapped in flat tortilla-like bread. $7-12.










 * Sticky Fingerz, 135 Bridge St, opens late (after c. 22:00) and stays open until the bars close. They offer fried chicken and chips and the hamburgers that are worth the price. $5-10.

Drink
Many bars are located in the Central Business District on Bridge Street between Collingwood and Trafalgar Streets.








 * The Oyster Bar (115 Hardy St) has fancy drinks and a small menu of seafood items. Fresh oysters are available most of the time while the bar is open Th-Su.







Sleep
Nelson offers an excellent range of quality accommodation including Backpackers, Bed and Breakfasts (B&B's), Holiday Homes, Hotels, Lodges, Resorts, Serviced Apartments and Motels.

B & B's




Mid range














Connect
The iSite (tourist information) offers coin-in-the-slot Internet that is relatively expensive. Directly opposite, the local public library offers both free Wi-Fi and free Internet connected computers to locals and non-locals alike!

Go next

 * Nelson is close (110 min drive, 50 min by fast boat) to the Abel Tasman National Park which offers sea kayaking and the 51 km Abel Tasman Coast Track (one of NZ's Great Walks). Also see Tramping in New Zealand.


 * Visit the district museums in Collingwood, Motueka, Takaka and Murchison.


 * Go swimming in the river up the Maitai Valley or Lee River Valley! You can hitch hike up there if you don't have a car. Bring a sandwich and some water.