Nothing to Do in Nelson?? Let Me Be Your Guide Part II

Cable Bay, looking onto Pepin Island

After the Centre of New Zealand, we had to stop for lunch. Fish Stop looked like the place. And while the cheese burger I ordered was underwhelming, the fried were possibly the best I've had since I've been in this country. So. Crispy. So. Good.

Cable Bay

4. Cable Bay/Rotokura

A 20-minute drive or 18 kilometres from the Centre of New Zealand/Fish Stop, Cable Bay also known as Rotokura is well-worth the drive. I didn't know until we were halfway there that the walkway that winds around the hills was closed at this time of year for... any guesses? Lambing. But we were still able to go a bit higher than ground-level and got a pretty fantastic view of the super clear water. The beach is made up of smooth, rounded rocks, but there is golden sand underneath.

We took a walk along the beach and watched the birds flying, a child playing in the sand, and a fisherman pulling his kayak out of the water. Absolutely worth the trip.

On our way back to Nelson, we made 2 stops, conveniently located next door to each other.

Miyazu Japanese Garden

Apparently, the ducks like to sit in the
middle of this bridge and block people
from walking along it.

5. Miyazu Garden

I think there's something about Japanese gardens that draw me to them. There's so much to see and you get an entirely different backdrop every way you turn. I love them for the photographic and visual appeals.

There's a pond that offers two ways to cross: a thin wooden plank bridge or a stone pathway through. The ducks were laying on the plank bridge and later floating across the water.

The red bridge across the stream reminded me of the Japanese garden in Georgetown.

The whole place had a very calming, serene atmosphere. People were walking their dogs, playing with children, and just laying and relaxing in this massive, diverse garden (I'd say at least twice the size of Georgetown's garden).

At the end of this month, the Miyazu Garden will have the Cherry Blossom festival. I can only imagine how beautiful it will be. We were a bit too early to see just how magnificent the cherry blossoms are, but by the sheer numbers of trees we saw, I'm sure it will be amazing.

We probably could have spent another hour there, but we had so much to do, we had to move on. And move on, we did... right next door.

Founders Heritage Park

6. Founders Heritage Park

One word: Windmill.

That's why I wanted to go to Founders Park. I saw someone else's photo and immediately said that's going on the list.

There was a plethora of historical finds here. For $7 NZD per person, it wasn't too much money. (Locals from either Nelson or Tasman get in free.)

I think both of us were underwhelmed here if only because it was a lot of reading, not a lot of interacting.

You enter through the windmill and then walk onto an old street. There was a General Store, Cobbler, church, fire station, brew house, etc. Some of these places you could walk through and see what life would have been like at that time, but some were not opened to the public. While walking into the plane was a unique experience and seeing the old coach line vehicles was cool, it wasn't something I'd put at the top of our list.

There were some businesses there that, on weekdays I'm guessing, are open to the public. We passed by a fashion designer's store, a fabric shop, a gift shop, a jeweler, a decades furniture store, a yoga studio, and a radio station. They also offer a ride on the train for $5 NZD per adult.

Suggestions to Founders Heritage Park: it would be really cool if you had an interactive display at the brew house or general store with tastings or treats to really take all your senses on the journey that the buildings set up.

I'd say I'm glad we went, but I wouldn't do it again.

But there was so much more to do, we went on our way.

Part III coming soon, so stay tuned!