World of WearableArt™ & Classic Cars Museum
Experience a creative and visual feast that is beyond description. Firmly established as an iconic Nelson visitor attraction, the WOW® and Classic Cars Museum celebrates two distinctly different passions.
Admire our world class display of some of the most sought after models in Classic motoring, beautifully displayed under theatrical lighting. This is a car gallery like no other.
Be amazed by the incredible garments that feature in the WearableArt™ gallery, marvel at the extraordinary inspiration of artists from around the globe to create these truly breathtaking works of art.
Website:www.wowcars.co.nz
Open:every day of the year from 10.00am - 5.00pm except Christmas Day.
Contact:
Wilsons Abel Tasman
This spring – be our guest! Our award winning team at Wilsons Abel Tasman, know how to show you the best of the Abel Tasman National Park, with imaginative itineraries from a half to five days, including walking, sea kayaking, and boat cruise and water taxi options. Overnight in the comfort of Beachfront Lodges, Torrent Bay Lodge and Meadowbank Homestead – Awaroa, with ensuite rooms, fine food and wine. Expert Guides design your day to be as active or relaxed as you wish. Perfect for a weekend getaway, that special celebration or for groups with a range of interests and abilities.
Website:www.abeltasman.co.nz
Contact:Wilsons Abel Tasman, 265 High Street, Motueka
Phone:0800 223 582 (0800 ABEL TASMAN)
Email:
Enriching Wellness Day Spa
A Wellness Day Spa for Men and Women in Central Nelson.
Nourish the body, feed the soul
- Melt your muscles with massage
- Soak in our private garden spa pool
- Relax to the core with a hot stones treatment
- Rejuvenate with a facial
- Enriching beauty treatments in a calming environment
- Using predominately NZ organic products
We invite you into our nourishing environment that supports the needs of men and women who are seeking vitality and balance.
Give yourself the gift of time and space.
Website:www.enriching.co.nz
Open:Jun – 30 Sept, Mon to Sat 11am - 6pm Then Oct to April, Mon to Fri 11am - 7pm and Weekends & most Public Holidays 1pm - 6pm
Contact:Enriching Wellness Day Spa 114 Milton St, The Wood, Nelson
Phone:03 539 4482
Email:
Wine, Art & Wilderness
(operated by New Zealand Nature Tours)
Noel Kennedy hosts fully catered, authentic, personal experiences into Abel Tasman, Kahurangi and Nelson Lakes National Parks and Golden Bay.
Wine Exposed tours introduces visitors to Food and Wine matching with boutique Winemakers and Vineyard owners and presents the best of local produce.
Art Exposed reveals the cultural essence of the region with studio and gallery visits with some of New Zealand’s highly acclaimed artists.
These journeys are the ultimate in added value guided experiences. Each day will be fun, informative and inspiring with the flexibility a small group allows.
Website:www.newzealandnaturetours.com
Open:Jun – 30 Sept, Mon to Sat 11am - 6pm Then Oct to April, Mon to Fri 11am - 7pm and Weekends & most Public Holidays 1pm - 6pm
Contact:Wine, Art & Wilderness: 99 Tosswill Road, Tahunanui, Nelson
Freephone:0800 326 868
Email:
Neudorf Vineyards
Neudorf is New Zealand's Greatest Wine Producer", says Tom Stevenson in his acclaimed Wine Guide (2009).
Back in the Moutere the team at Neudorf are delighted to received such praise, but what drives them is the search for beautiful wine.
Wine with texture, blance and length. Wine which ages well and happily enhances food.
You are invited to taste their findings.
Website:www.neudorf.co.nz
Open:every day from September until the end of May
Contact:Neudorf Vineyards Neudorf Road, Upper Moutere, Nelson
Freephone:03 543 2643
Email:
Morrison Street Café
Come for our famous breakfast, a long slow brunch or a sunny summer lunch. The setting is upbeat but personal and there’s local art on the walls. Our food is fresh, with a menu that changes seasonally, and our coffee is the best. Lots of options for kids and those with food sensitivities.
Website:www.morrisonstreetcafe.co.nz
Open:Weekdays 7.30am – 4.00pm, Sat 8.30am – 4.00pm, and Sun 9.00am – 4.00pm
Contact:Morrison Street Café 244 Hardy Street, Nelson
Phone:03 548 8110
Email:
Jens Hansen Contemporary Gold & Silversmith
Jens Hansen is internationally recognised for contemporary jewellery with true spirit and timeless style. At the Nelson workshop, try on beautiful handcrafted jewellery, including the Lord of the Rings One Ring, or have something designed just for you. As purveyors of fine diamonds, Jens Hansen is Nelson’s engagement and wedding ring specialist.
Website:www.jenshansen.com
Open:Weekdays 7.30am – 4.00pm, Sat 8.30am – 4.00pm, and Sun 9.00am – 4.00pm
Address:320 Trafalgar Square, Nelson, New Zealand
Phone:03 548 0640
Email:
Uniquely Nelson
Uniquely Nelson’s works alongside Nelson city businesses and key stakeholders to create and maintain a vibrant and attractive retail environment that builds on Nelson’s history, arts, and natural beauty. In addition to managing 5 key annual promotions in the city centre, Uniquely Nelson acts as an important communication forum between council, key stakeholders and over 600 businesses in Nelson city.
Grand Mercure Nelson Monaco
Located just minutes from the heart of Nelson, Grand Mercure Nelson Monaco is the perfect retreat. the resort provides all the comforts and conveniences you could wish for, including award winning restaurant The Orangerie, health and beauty spa, pool, gym, boutique Jeweller, hairdressing salon and conference facilities, complimentary shuttle.
Website:www.monacoresort.co.nz
Contact:Grand Mercure Nelson Monaco 6 Point Road, Stoke, Nelson
Phone:03 547 8233
Email:
South Street Cottages
Nestled among the colonial cottages of historic South Street, our charming self-catering accommodation offers privacy and independence. Quiet and peaceful, they are only a 3 minute stroll from Nelson's city centre.
With courtyard gardens and log fires the cottages are an idyllic haven from where you can explore Nelson’s varied attractions.
Website:www.cottageaccommodation.co.nz
Contact:South Street Cottages Number 1, 3 and 12 South Street, Nelson
Phone:03 540 2769
Email:
Nelson Arts Festival
Thursday 15th–Monday 26th October 2009
In Nelson we welcome the spring with an explosion of creativity. For 14 years the Nelson Arts Festival has offered Nelsonians and visitors twelve days of top national and international theatre, dance, cabaret, music and talks. This year’s festival opens on October 16 with the Port Nelson Masked Parade, where over 4000 children throng the city streets.
The festival continues with performances that include Joe Bennett’s circus comedy The Butler, the crazy Kransky Sisters from Australia, top New Zealand contemporary musicians and the Page and Blackmore Readers and Writers series. Great entertainment over Labour Weekend in heritage venues.
Website:www.nelsonartsfestival.co.nz
Nelson Events
Looking for Nelson events? Check out www.itson.co.nz
ItsOn.co.nz is a new website that lists events in the Nelson Tasman region. Events include festivals, shows, concerts, art and museum exhibitions, expos, major sporting competitions, markets, fairs and community events.
So whether you’re into music, theatre, wine and food, craft beers, arts and crafts, sustainability, sports, leisure, marine or motoring … or all of the above, … you can find it on Its On.
Website:www.itson.co.nz
The Site of New Zealand’s First Game of Rugby
Take a walk into Nelson’s leafy Maitai River valley and you will find a Botanics Reserve, set aside by the early settlers, at the end of Hardy Street. An interpretation panel, shaped like rugby ball and goal posts, will tell you the story of this how this playing field claimed it place in New Zealand sporting history.
Sir David Monro was one of Nelson’s founding fathers. In 1851 he sent his 16 year old son Charles ‘home’ to England to finish his schooling. Rugby had been ‘invented’ by William Webb Ellis and had spread to universities, clubs and other schools around England. When Charles Monro came back to New Zealand, he managed to talk the Nelson Football Club into ditching the round ball for a trial game of rugby.
On 17 May 1870 the first game of rugby was played between a group of lads from Nelson College and Nelson Club team on Nelson’s Botanic Reserve. The game must have appealed to the club members for they decided to adopt it. At the time rugby was played by teams of 20, and points were scored only by kicking goals. The aim was to touch the ball down, which gave the team the right to have a ‘try’ at a goal.
Centre of New Zealand
Nelson’s Botanic Hill marks the geographical centre of New Zealand and is one of Nelson’s most popular walks. The walk to the Centre of New Zealand will take 20-60 minutes, depending on your age, speed and fitness. At the top visitors can take a seat and enjoy a stunning view over the Nelson region.
In the early days of European settlement in New Zealand, independent surveyors made isolated surveys that were not connected up. In the 1870s, it was decided to connect these up by a geodetic survey (one that takes into account the curvature of the earth). John Spence Browning, the Chief Surveyor for Nelson was the only surveyor with the practical experience to do the job. Because he was located in Nelson he was instructed to begin the job here and to extend the survey south to the West Coast.
Later it was connected up to surveys from Canterbury. Using the triangulation method to make the survey, Browning took the easily accessible Zig Zag track to the summit of the Botanical Hill and made this the starting point for the apex of his first set of triangles. The base line for the triangle was laid out in what is now Rutherford Street, between Examiner St and Haven Rd.
Nelson’s Freshest Fish’n’Chips
The largest fishing port in Australasia offers a huge variety of fresh fish, cooked to perfection, with chips and your favourite accompaniments, wrapped in a steamy, mouth-watering take-away parcel. Picnic beside Wakefield Quay Wharf or take your “catch” and refreshments up the Port Hills to the secluded city reserve located on a sun drenched cliff top with panoramic views. Enjoy your feast as the sun sets dramatically over distant mountains and Tasman Bay in the foreground. Immediately below, The Cut, is where fishing boats return, and cargo ships are majestically escorted to port by hardworking tugboats. “The Cut” is a man-made channel separating Haulashore Island and the Boulder Bank; a geographically unique landform which stretches 13km Northeast towards Cable Bay. An historic and picturesque lighthouse sits on this longest natural boulder bank in the Southern Hemisphere.