Nelson, New Zealand

Nelson
"Hops and crops, and crafts. And some great outdoor activities"

Nelson is a major craft centre. Potters (attracted by the high quality clays in the area), weavers (probably married to the potters), glass blowers, jewellers . . . artists and artisans of all types, styles and descriptions are busy all over this region.

But the reason for the creative concentration in this region its not really quite that simple. The area was for many years rather isolated. The land was subdivided into relatively small holdings. This initially reared a hardy breed of individualists.

Later artisans and craftspeople could purchase those same small holdings at modest cost. Brought together, these economic and social strands nurtured a community with artistic and aesthetic traditions which make it one of the more interesting regions to visit today.

Nelson is also the jumping-off point for visiting the north-west corner of the South Island, an area that offers a wide variety of outdoor adventures in an untouched wilderness. In particular Abel Tasman National Park and the Abel Tasman Walk.

Major Sightseeing

Nelson Cathedral on Church Hill (surprise! surprise!) at the head of Trafalgar St right in the centre of the city. This is the fourth building on the site - the first was a fort to defend the fledgling town against warring Maori - followed by a series of churches, each grander than the last as befits a growing and thriving settlement. The grounds are beautiful, too.

Broadgreen: 276 Nayland Rd., Stoke. A fine example of a colonial country home, built in the mid 1850s and modelled on a Devonshire country house with cob walls (a mixture of mud, clay and straw). Has a magnificent rose garden which, in bloom, is worth the visit on its own. Open every day except Christmas Day and Good Friday, from 10.30 - 4.30 pm.

The first bishop of Nelson, Andrew Suter, who held the post from 1867 to 1891 was not only a keen painter, but an avid collector. He gave to the city what is generally regarded as the country's finest collection of early watercolours. Housed at the Suter Gallery, the collection , while not large, is an important one. The painting shown here, by Gottfried Lindauer, is one of their collection.

And while we're talking about matters ecclesiastical, there's Bishop's School in Nile St. Built in 1844 it was used as a school for nearly a century and today houses a school museum displaying early text books and notes.

Nile St and South St are charming little precincts with working-class cottages built between 1863 and 1867. Many are still houses, but some are used by craftspeople as home workshops and are open. Find the multi-storey Hotel Nelson, and they're just opposite.

Galleries and Studios

South St Gallery, which, despite its name is at 10 Nile St,. 25 selected local potters' work is sold here covering a wide variety of functional and imaginative ware. Has been awarded "Top Pottery Gallery in NZ".

Jens Hansen, a silver and goldsmith, was in residence for many years at 320 Trafalgar St. He is now dead but his studio carries on . . . go in and watch precious metal workers at their craft. Probably their most famous commission was to make The One Ring for the film version of Lord Of The Rings.

Dean Hawkins Jeweller 240 Trafalgar Street (upstairs). Bold and imaginative jewellery is a distinguishing feature of the studio/workshop. Their unique style is evident in all of the designs. Ph 03- 548- 0387.Email: dhjeweller@xtra.co.nz

Red, 1 Bridge Street, is a gallery for contemporary fine art, glass and jewellery from the flourishing Nelson art scene as well as artists from other parts of New Zealand. Ph 03-548-2170. Email redgallery@clear.net.nz.

Silkwood Fibre Arts & Crafts Centre & Garden Café . Westdale Road, 10 minutes from Richmond. Off SH60. Original and exclusive designer handknits, hand-painted silks, woven and fibre creations, truly unusual local art and craftwork. Open 7 days a week. 9-5 summer, 10–5 winter. 03-540-2985.

Bead Gallery,18 Parere Street. Encouraging a hands-on approach, the staff guide you through the gallery and help design or alternatively custom create an original piece made to your own personal taste.
Open Mon - Sat 9-5. Ph 03-546-7807.

Bit out of town - at Richmond - is Eyebright which specialises in dried flowers, McShane Rd, Richmond. Ph 03-544-4977.

While your out that way you might like to look in on Hoglund Art Glass at Korurangi Farm, Landsdowne Rd, Richmond. Ph 03-544-6500.

Bronte Gallery Robertson Art, Bronte Road East, off SH 60. The Robertsons´ Gallery has an acknowledged reputation for conceptual painting, ceramic art and sculpture.having won major awards in Japan, USA, Australia and New Zealand. Gold medals in France and Egypt and honoured around the world with works held in museums and art gallery collections. Ph 03-540-2579.

Pots n Prints, 16a Tahunanui Dr, Tahunanui. Sells selected work in most media including jewellery, pottery, paintings, prints, cards, sculpture, scarves, throws, cushions, and much more. Located near Tahunanui Beach between Ribbetts and Piccadilly Cafés. Open 7 days most of the year, 6 days in Winter. Ph 03-546-4992 Email: ainslieriddoch@yahoo.co.nz.

A good way of getting to see a variety of local arts, crafts and general artsy-craftsy stuff is to get hold of a copy of Nelson City Arts Trails And Gallery Guide. They cost 50c and you'll pick one up at the Nelson Visitor Information Centre as well as a number of local sights and sites. Includes an easy walking tour of the inner city covering a wide variety of galleries and places of artistic interest.

Local Sightseeing Tours

A couple of companies provide a menu of half day and full day tours - city sights, Nelson Lakes National Park, vineyards and crafts, historic buildings - Bay Tours Ph 0800-229-868 or Nelson Day Tours 03-548-4224. Email: nelson.day.tours@xtra.co.nz

New Zealand Ecotours, One or multiple-day nature tours of Abel Tasman National Park with local-food lunches, specialist guides and kayak options. Emphasis is on environmental interests and issues. Ph 0800 ECOTOUR (0800-326-868)

Festivals

The big event here is the Montana Wearable Art Awards where spinners, weavers, designers and makers combine to produce what can only be described as art in a wearable form. The WearableArts people have teamed up in a joint venture with a collection of "collectible" cars in the World of WearableArt and Collectible Cars Complex, 95 Quarantine Road, Annesbrook. Many of the winning designs from the awards are on display.

Beyond The Fringe

Out west beyond Nelson is some of the most interesting outdoor pursuits country in New Zealand - Takaka, Abel Tasman National Park and Farewell Spit. To the south is the Nelson Lakes National Park. And on the road to the West Coast you'll pass through the Buller Gorge. All of them have many adventure opportunities.

Motueka

Motueka Sunday Market, A market with the social vibes and energy of a small Mardi Gras. You’ll find silver from Kathmandu, art for garden landscapes and interiors, breads, cheeses, gourmet foods, seasonal fruit and veges, plants, fascinating second-hand treasures and the best of the café culture.8am – 1pm every Sunday. Desks Reserve Carpark. Ph 03-540-2709.

Takaka

Harwoods Hole, on the south west edge of Abel Tasman National Park, is the largest tomo (cave) in the Southern Hemisphere at 370m deep and 70 m wide. It's a half day's work to get there - there's a half hour walk from the car park alone. But take a care: Be real, like real, careful as you approach the lip of the tomo. The rock scree that surrounds the opening is most unstable. A rope is definitely the smarts - if you go over the edge it's a long way to rock and roll before you hit the hard.. It's on a side road (Canaan Rd) off SH60 on what is known as Takaka Hill. The walk in takes you through beech forest with great views of rugged Gorge Creek and the Golden Bay area to the tomo.

Fancy a touch of eel - more acurately fancy actually touching, stroking, an eel? You'll be surpised - they are not slippery. More like satiny. They only exude the slippery slime when they are frightened. Makes sense. At Bencarri Farm, McCallums Rd, Takaka you can hand feed the eels - they also have a collection of other animals including exotics like llamas and yaks. Open 10 till 5. Ph 03-525-8261.

At Anatoki Salmon, which is also on McCallums Rd, you can catch a salmon and have it cooked there and then on the spot at one of the barbecues. Or they'll smoke it for you. No charge for entry - all gear and tuition supplied, but catch-and-release it ain't: you pay for what you catch. If you don't fancy fishing for your dinner you can get it fresh or applewood and honey smoked.

Abel Tasman National Park

Click there for information on Abel Tasman National Park and the north-west corner of the South Island.

Nelson Lakes National Park

On your way south, if you take the inland route towards the West Coast you'll pass through, or near, Nelson Lakes National Park. Or you can get more info from the Department of Conservation's Nelson Lakes page.

The Buller Gorge

Story I like most about the Buller concerns one Captain Moonlight. Hey, no kiddin'. That really was his name - George Fairweather Moonlight. He was one of those incredibly colourful characters - for whom the name is almost for real.

A gold prospector turned hotelier and storekeeper, he was the central figure in a small and isolated community at Murchison, a town in the centre of the Buller region. Dressed in scarlet shirt, black breeches, maroon sash and knee-high wellington boots, he cut a dashing figure.

Because of a technical hitch in his marriage ceremony it required an Act of Parliament to validate his marriage. See what I mean about colourful . . . that never happens to boring people like you and me!!

Perhaps the most touching story was that of his death. Ruined by advancing too much credit to optimistic but pennilistic miners, he took to wandering the bush again, seeking the One Big Strike that would restore his fortune. He had previously prospected the hills and valleys of the Buller with his old mate, Jack Tarrant. But on one trip he went missing and after several weeks the searchers gave up. Except for old Jack Tarrant, that is. He said: "If anyone can find Moonlight, I can. We've prospected together so much and know one another so well that where his feet would take him, mine will take me".

Six weeks later he found his old mate, dead, quite dead, sitting beneath a tree. Moonlight had apparently taken ill and had desperately tried to make it back to the township, but collapsed, rolling off the path into the bole of a tree.

And that's what mates are about. So when a Kiwi talks about his "Mates", mate, he's goin' on about more than just "friendship", mate. I mean, you never leave a mate, mate. You gotta hang in there with him until the edge of doom if necessary, mate. 'Cos that's what a mate would do, mate. You never give up, and you never give in if it's a mate at stake, mate. If you know what I mean. Mate.

Actually, it's not as silly as it sounds. In a tough, untamed, uncivilised world, where there was no possibility of outside help, the only people you could rely on were yourself and those nearest to you - your mates. Mateship, a concept well understood by our Aussie mates, grew out of this mutual dependence, remembering that for a hard, raw colonial male, dependence was not something that came naturally or was easily accepted. It was easier to call it mateship, mate.

Anyway, back to the Buller and enough of the sociological dissertation. The Buller River is one of the last great gorge girt rvers undammed - undamned? - by the hydro-electricity planners' grab for yet more power. I was motoring from Westport to Motueka a while back and, crossing the Buller River on the Buller Bridge, paused to watch the slow progression of a rabble of rafters below. Some of them, forsaking the, er, "comfort" of the raft, were simply floating down the river in their wetsuits. They looked up and, seeing me gawking from the window of my SleeperVan, hailed and waved. I waved back and thought what a great way to enjoy the natural outback Kiwi experience. Floating through it at the gentle pace of a river.

Ultimate Descents Ph 03-523-9899 can put it together for you. Gotta give it a go myself sometime. When God and the bank manager (sometimes I wonder which is the more omnipotent) allow me a day to spare.

Of course you can just rip up the river at the speed of a jet boat, getting the high voltage thrill of running one of thr country's most spectacular gorges with Buller Experience Jet, "Longford Lodge", Murchison, Ph 03-523-9880. Operating daily or on demand.

Walk the Buller Gorge Swing Bridge, NZ´s longest, crossing the Buller Gorge to view the 4.5m high Whites Creek faultline, epicentre of the 1929 Murchison earthquake. Explore historic goldworkings. Try gold panning, then if you dare fly high across the river on the high speed Cometline. Ph 03-523-9809.

The Hops

Oh, yeah, I nearly forgot. The hops. The hops? Yeah, yeah! You know . . malted barley, yeast, fermentation, hops etc. etc. Beer, ale, lager, bitter, brown. This region is where NZ gets all its hops. You'll see them in summer, long vines of them, especially in the Moutere and Richmond areas. Just thought you'd like to know that.

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Home Page

All you need to know about a visit to the place where God set the contrast and colour and man hasn't fiddled with the dials.

Introduction

What, hopefully, you'll get out of this mish-mash of peripatetic ramblings.

General Information

Background bumpf on the country.

Getting In

Visas, customs, immigration, duty free shopping, and getting away from the airport. Bloody important if you don't want to be arrested on arrival.

Getting Around

Moving on . . . by road or rail, by air or by sea.

Accommodation

"nuff said.

The Regions

What to see, what to do, why to go there.

Special Interests

Diving, fishing, golf, rafting, sailing, skiing - and more.