Nelson

Road to Nelson

The Pelorus Sound was home to one of the worlds most famous dolphins. Pelorus Jack was a white Rissos dolphin that lived in the area for 24 years from 1888 - 1912, 'Jack', inhabited the sound and used to guide steam boats through the treacherous French pass to the Cook Strait.

From Havelock you leave the sounds and head back in land through the Mount Richmond Park Forest. At Pelorus bridge there is a wicked water hole, a perfect stop for a swim on a hot sunny afternoon (don't jump off the bridge, it looks deep, but it's not!) It's about 30 minutes from here into Nelson.

Sunny Nelson

Nelson has more sunlight hours than any other city in New Zealand. It's also our geographical centre. Nelson can get exceptionally busy in the summer as it tends to bottle neck with travellers heading down the Westcoast. A good alternative for accommodation is the Motueka / Abel Tasman region. Motueka is about 40 mins drive from Nelson. Kaiteriteri and Marahau, at the foot of the Abel Tasman N.P., are only a little further. The advantage of arriving in the evening is you will get to have the whole day checking out the beaches, bays, and forests of Abel Tasman N.P.

Abel Tasman National Park

Abel Tasman N.P. is New Zealand's smallest National Park. It is also one of the busiest, particularly in the summer months. If you are planning on a multi day walk in peak season, you should consider either walking the Queen Charlotte track, which is also a top ten great walk, or, travel by kayak. During the peak periods campsites and huts swell to bursting point. Walkers have been known to literally run from one hut to the next in order to find a spot for the night. The Queen Charlotte track is also a low lying coastal route with stunning views across the Marlborough Sounds. For information on kayaking in Abel Tasman National Park, contact your nearest YHA, I-site, Beyond Travel office or Old MacDonalds Farm (03)527 8288. There are some other great national parks in the region including Nelson lakes National Park and Kahurangi National Park.

Links

Check out the following links:

• Stay at Old MacDonald's Farm 

Did you know?

WHO'S ON THE MONEY?

$5, Sir Edmund Hillary, New Zealand expeditionary leader & first person to successfully climb Mt Everest.

$10, Kate Shepherd head of the suffragist movement in N.Z., consequently we were the first country in the world to give women the vote.

$20 our beloved monarch Queen Liz II.

$50 Sir Apirana Ngata was the first Maori to ever receive a university degree and was a politician in the early 1900's he was minister of Maori affairs in the late 20's he also created the famous Maori battalion of WWII.

$100 is local Nelson boy, Lord Rutherford, he won the 1908 Nobel prize in chemistry and was the first person to split the atom.