Category Archives: Nelson

Nelson, South Island 2017

Great parking

We arrived in Richmond pretty knackered and late in the day but as soon as we drove in, I saw Nick and Karen’s tag axle Autotrail Commanche behind where we were about to park.

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Nick and Karen’s Commanche

We first met them at a Paeroa Motorhome Friends catchup so it was really nice to see them.

They’re a great couple and have been fulltiming in the Commanche now for nearly 2 years and loving the lifestyle.

After tea they joined us for a cup of coffee and a biscuit in Rafe. As Fiona says, they were the inspiration for us to try fulltiming so it was good to catch up with them and see how they were going.

The Richmond Motorhome park is part of the A&P grounds in Richmond and is extremely good value with powered sites for just $15. There are toilets, several washing machines and recyling and rubbish collection.

The park

We left the next morning for the day to go into Nelson to see Monty’s market in the middle of town.

Fiona at the market

Interesting seeing people out having fun in the sun looking for the bargains.

Cellar Door cafe

After this we went to find somewhere nice for lunch and came across a group of three cafes all on the one site on the way to Motueka, about 2k’s from Richmond.

The La Capilla next door

We initially thought they were owned by the same person but they are separate and competing businesses. We stopped in at the Waimea Cellar Door Cafe which was quite quirky and rustic with its décor. There is another cafe in a Church next door called la Capilla and also a burger bar called Abbey Road.
Interesting places.

The La Capilla cafe

They had a deal on for a cup of coffee and a scone for $7 so we did that and then had a cider and a glass of the Waimea Chardonnay. Very nice it was too and a generous pour as well!

One of the quirky windows

They all look like nice places with plenty of easy Motorhome parking around the back.

Nelson, South Island 2017

Fabulous Falls

As we said our goodbyes to the good folk at Hamner, Roses’s parting words were “ Make sure you stop at Maruia Falls and take your camera!”

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Look at all that water.

So I was under orders. About 20k’s or so after Springs Junction where the West Coast road, The Lewis pass road and the Nelson road meet, there is a small carpark on the side of the road which has tracks down to these amazing falls on the river.

Maruia Falls

These are the falls Rose  was talking about and there is a 5 minute walking track down to the river where you can get the real view from the waters edge. Its an impressive sight and the volume of water that gets through here is just huge.

The falls from above

You can also park overnight in your motorhome in the carpark if you want to.

In the carpark. You can stay overnight here for free.

We spent an hour or so here and its well worth checking this out and its not a big long walk either 🙂

Nelson, South Island 2017

Port Mapua

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Checking in at Mapua Leisure Park in the rain was easy. Getting Rafe organised in the rain on these huge parks was another matter. The parks are generally 9m by 9m but are marked only by little signs in the grass. Fun to see in the rain 🙂

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Rabbit Island and the Nelson hills behind

After figuring out that the trees I’d parked in front of were in the way of a good TV signal, all was well.   It was all about knowing where North was 🙂 I was completely confused even though I was once a boy scout too!

Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow

In a primo spot
Plenty of space
The kitchen, showers and toilets
The Port
Check out the current at the wharf!
Looking from the port over to the Richmond hills
Its all aboit bikes here. The shops at the port behind
Fiona riding off over the causeway to Mapua

We were right on the waterfront. Just amazing looking back over Rabbit Island to the hills behind Nelson. A great spot.

The port and the shops

On our second day, we went for a bike ride around to the Mapua Port. In what used to some old cool stores have all been turned into a selection of specialty shops and food outlets. It was really interesting. The port is only about 10 minutes riding from the camping ground and is an easy walk too.

The Antique shop in the cool store.

After looking through an antique shop with Fiona I went back to the wharf and watched the boats with the amazing current with the outgoing tide. It must have been at least 5 knots! The boats on the moorings look like theyre under way and when a small boat came in against the current, it looked like it was barely making and headway. It must be a dangerous area if you broke down!

The ferry and looking  towards the camp on the left.

After having some great Fish and Chips at the fish shop, we headed back to the town for a cuppa at the bakery and then back to the camp.

The bakery at Mapua town.

The sun was shining, the wind was insignificant and it was just lovely by the water, watching boats come and go.

Rafe on the waterfront

With over 100 powered sites, a pool, a Cafe and some motels, its massive. A very pleasant place to stay and I gather it rocks during summer.

Rafe’s track to Mapua
Nelson, South Island 2017

Peter and Sue’s new Esprit

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One of the nice things about buying a Dethleffs in NZ is that you are automatically a member of the Dethleffs Owners Group. As part of this with the now huge annual Rallies, there is a real sense of being part of a team or family which is great.

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The Esprit with Rafe behind

We’d just arrived at Mapua in the pouring rain and trying to line up Rafe into some fairly vaguely defined parking spaces(in the rain anyway!) It was fun when you had to make sure the TV signal was fine and close to the power towers etc, and dodging big puddles. We got the power right but the TV wasn’t a happening thing until I noticed a dish on a neighbourly Dethleffs Esprit pointing in a completely different direction. Where I thought North was was actually 180 degrees wrong so some trees behind us were the problem 🙂 I ran over and knocked on the door and met Peter and Sue who gave me a huge Dethleffs welcome and invited me in and it was about 15 – 20 minutes later before I got to shifting Rafe to sort our the TV!

Turning leather seats. Very comfortable.

Cutting a long story short, Peter and Sue came over through the puddles and rain for a drink later in the day and we had a fun couple of hours.

The Dethleffs curved Galley. Plenty of room here too.

They picked up their brand new Esprit in March and have been up into Northland and several times down to their daughters driveways in Palmerston North. Now that they’re semi retired, they’re getting out and enjoying their new truck a bit more from their home in Taupo.

Peter and Sue with their Esprit

I was really impressed with the changes in the new Esprit especially where it came to new lighting systems and it was interesting seeing the Single/King sized bed configuration in a practical way too. Peter is pretty tall so that limited their options when they were working out what they wanted and what they have now really works well for them.

The Single Beds which also turn into a massive King Size Bed. There is lots of storage underneath too.

The following day, we caught up with them again for a hour or so in their Esprit. It really is very comfortable.

Another look at the galley with the gas oven below.

They will be at the Annual Dethleffs Owners Group meeting in Karapiro in October so keep an eye out for them.

Nelson

What clever people can do with an old tip.

In 1986, some very clever people from Nelson had several problems to solve. Some old historical buildings had to be saved and to do this, they had to be moved to somewhere safe. The other problem was what to do with an old reclaimed tip area.  So the clever people fixed up the tip area to be reasonably presentable and stuck the buildings on it. A trust was formed backed by the council and the momentum to create the Founders Heritage Park was all on.

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Looking down the main street with the Old St Peters Church and the Windmill behind. The Windmill was in the main street of Nelson for many years.

With help coming from all corners of the community and a lot of local businesses, this is a stunning collection of Heritage buildings and historical artefacts from in and around Nelson. Think of a smaller version of Auckland’s Museum of Transport and Technology.

Old Newmans and NAC buses

Some very nearly didn’t make it with some terrible stories of buildings nearly falling of trucks on the way to the museum.

One of Nelsons Fire Stations

We visited the park on a day when it was pouring with rain but it was really the only time we had left in Nelson to do it.

A section on the history of the Port complete with a manmade lake.

With 30 odd buildings from a church to Schools, a railway station and many local shops rescued from Trafalgar street in Nelson  as new buildings were built.

The Bristol Freighter

There was even a Bristol Freighter which was good to see as Fiona spent 3 years or so in Malaya at a British and New Zealand Military Camp. When she returned, she came back with her parents and younger brother and sister in a Bristol Freighter. As they are unpressurised, they could only fly at 300 feet and it took 3  days to get from Malaya to New Zealand via Darwin and Sydney, with frozen sandwiches as meals :-).

Fiona on the Bristol Freighter

This was Fiona’s first look inside one of these planes since that trip as an 8 year old so it was a bit special.

Fiona with the Bristol Freighter

I was amazed by how small it was inside. I used to watch them take off from Wellington Airport from my grandparents place up on the hill in Melrose, Wellington.  As a grasshopper, I always thought they were huge !

After having a good look around the plane, we checked out the rest of the village. One of the interesting things there was a replica of Sir Ernest Rutherford’s house as a child.

A replica of Sir Ernest Rutherfords house.

There is so much other stuff to see at the park, I’ll let the Gallery below do the talking.

Click on the Gallery below to see a Slideshow

Old St Peters Church at the end of the street.
An old Nelson bike
Part of a section on Bikes
An old Stagecoach
A shoe repair business
Inside Old St Peters Church
The main street

We took shelter from the rain after that and had a nice cup of coffee and a really nice cake and scone at the onsite café.

Part of a great Agricultural display

Its a fabulous place and well done to those involved in rescuing these lovely old buildings and finding somewhere great to put them.

Its only $7 per adult and there is great parking for motorhomes there too.  Next time you’re in Nelson, check it out.

Rafe’s Track to the Founders Heritage Park
Nelson, South Island 2017

Riding to beat the rain

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We woke up to a stunning view across the water at Rabbit island. It was dead still and with lots of local dog walkers out exercising.

Dogs exercising their owners.

Who’d have thought that it was going to go pear shaped later in the day with a front forecaast to come over and drench the whole country !

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Bright Sunshine

We thought there would be a few hours where we could jump on our bikes and go into Nelson for a look around. Fiona was keen to get some wool and it was good to bike around the foreshore and check out all the neat houses tucked into the hillside.

Wow

The bike lanes are pretty narrow and close to the traffic so we ended up using the footpaths probably more than we should have but there were no pedestrians so Hey Ho!

The typical Nelson look

We parked our bikes in the centre of town and locked our bikes into the provided bike racks and set off on foot. On a mission for the wool shops 🙂

The main road through Nelson with the council clock.

We found a couple but not quite what was required it seems so a cup of coffee in a cafe was a nice break.

The River through Nelson

After looking around a bit more, we hopped back on the bikes and headed back the 4kms back to the campground. The weather was closing in and it all looked different with a grey sky but still nice and warm. After an 8K round trip, it was time for a cuppa by the sea.

The famous Restaurant over the water on the way back.

A great day out and although it was supposed to be raining by 2pm and we rode back looking at the threatening sky, it was still dry at 6pm!

Nelson

At the Beach

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Nelson is one of my favorite places. Its waterfront with the houses built into the hill, the bars and eateries next to the water and over the water, it is special. Its also flat so makes it easy to get around on a bike.

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Looking out towards Kaiteriteri

We’ve stayed at Tahuna Beach Holiday Park before in Wee Rafe the caravan several years ago and thought we’d give it another go.

A flash back to when we were there last ..Wee Rafe at Tahuna

Its huge! 540 powered sites and it covers a huge area. What I like about it though is the area at the far end which they call the old area, under the trees which is right on the water.

Rafe parked in the beautiful CSC area with the beach
All that space

In winter, they have a deal where NZMCA’rs with CSC can park down the end for $10 pp on the basis that they use their own facilities. They give you access to water, Dump Station and Power only. This deal can only be used for 3 days per month max. Its a good arrangement but we’re staying on for a few more days in the new area for the full rate of $36 with the NZMCA discount which is still very good value.

Click on the gallery below for a Slideshow

Mini Golf
Volley ball
Café / Restaurant
More of the new area
Kitchen facilities in the new area.
Motels
Oodles of room
Just lovely. Rabbit Island in the distance

Down the other end in the new area, there are new facilities and hard standing parks. Its all very nice. There is a mini golf course, a Restaurant and Cafe and a jumping pillow if you feel like a bounce 🙂

The new parking area

I went for a walk around and the place is massive. You could easily get lost here and being right on the harbour, its a stunning location.

Looking over the fence

There is even a shaped Auditorium in the grass with a stage for summer events. There are also lots of motels and cabins and permanent caravans too but they’re all in a separate area.

After the first few days, we moved up to the new area with all the mod cons. All the services were bunched together on top of a small hill which was nice with a courtyard in between. Laundry, showers, toilets etc.

Rafe in the distance in the new area. Taken from the raised kitchen.

We went for a  walk across the estuary when the tide went out and over to a small forest opposite. Lots of things to see and do.

Fiona on the estuary.

A cool place to stay in a nice town.

Rafe’s track to Tahuna