Nelson 2025

I'm visiting Nelson, New Zealand at the moment, and I have to say it seems to have turned the corner. It is looking quite prosperous these days. 

A quick recap: Nelson has been the poor cousin of New Zealand for a long time, often getting kicked in the teeth but always managing to get back up and then just getting on with it. The region had a bad flood this week too, but the locals didn't buckle, they never do. 

I took a few snaps, the first being fish and chips bought from The Sands Fish and Chips at Tahunanui:

One Scoop Chips and One Fish Dorie (got one bonus)

The shop is over the road from Tahunanui Beach, rated Top 10 in the world by Lonely Planet. They're not wrong, the beach is beautiful, safe, convenient and the sand is gorgeous:

Tahunanui Beach, Nelson, Top 10 Rated by Lonely Planet

Also at Tahunanui Beach is a statue of Abel Tasman, the Dutch explorer who did not discover Tasman Bay on which the beach sits, and he did not set foot on land. So, it is rather peculiar this is still allowed to sit there:

Abel Tasman in the wrong place

Anyway, back to important things - fish and chips, I walked past the place where I first tasted the cuisine. The shop still exists, it is on Alton Street next to NMIT, aka Nelson Polytechnic. And yes, that means this shop is old:

Ken's First Taste of Fish and Chips

Oh and I'm just going to throw in a random pie, bought in Havelock on the drive into Nelson from Blenheim, forget the name of the place, they had gluten free options, with vegetarian pies advertised, but this one is a mince and cheese:

 

Havelock Pie

Havelock's marina was looking different from when I last visited, clearly people have got money for boats:

Havelock Marina

And after Havelock, as I passed through I remembered to take a photo of the Callender-Hamilton bridge over the Pelorus River. It is still taking heavy traffic after decades of use. The type of bridge was invented by Kiwi engineer, A.M. Hamilton, the man also responsible for the Hamilton Road through Kurdistan. Callender-Hamilton bridges litter the landscape in Indonesia.

Callender-Hamilton Bridge Pelorus

Of course, being a beach goer I did not overlook my second favorite beach of all time. It should also be ranked top 10 by Lonely Planet, and that beach is Rabbit Island, near Richmond:

Rabbit Island

On the way back to Richmond from Rabbit Island, I came across an old Newmans Bus sitting in a field. Newmans used to be a Nelson based bus company operating all over the country. This one is a Mercedes:

Newmans Mercedes 0317

Nelson has a boulder bank which forms a natural harbour, it is really quite something, this is the start of it:

Boulder Bank

It ends at the cut, where ships enter the port. If you look into the distance you can see a ship has sailed, it looks small but it is a Panamax size vessel:

The Cut Port Nelson

There is a large tidal area behind the boulder bank, swarming with life in the mudflats. It is also a good place for small boats and kayaking:

Nelson Haven inside the boulder bank

The port of Nelson can be seen off in the distance in the above photo, it is very busy exporting logs at the moment, and for those who do not know, New Zealand is the world's largest exporter of logs. Nelson does manufacture MDF and LVL lumber products too, the forest harvest is fully exploited one way or the other with only certain classes of logs finding their way overseas. The other industries that are significant; fisheries, apples, kiwifruit growers, hops, dolomite fertilizer, grapes and wine. Tourism plays a large part in the region as well, as it is known for its sun and wonderful beaches.

I've gone out of my way to avoid talking about the obvious touristy stuff, but I will add a photo of 10 Avon Terrace in Nelson. It is where I grew up:

10 Avon Terrace

The house has been updated and renovated since its construction in the 1960's. It was designed by the architect Stokes, just before he moved to Christchurch and designed many houses there, mostly in Ilam. This then is an early Stokes house. My father brought the bricks in from out of the region to avoid buying bricks from a competitor. The concrete in the foundations was supplied by my father's ready-mix concrete firm, and he said he lost track of the amount of concrete that went into the place. The house was over height at the time and had to have a structural engineer involved (Dick Sanders of Sanders Lane and Page), and my father had to do a lot of talking to the council to avoid having to fit fire doors throughout the building. 

Anyhoo...that's Nelson.