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

One of many dresses/outfits on display at WOW

After Founders Heritage Park, we wanted to catch the WOW museum before it closed. Luckily, we did!

7. WOW

Oddly enough, "Wow!" is how I'd describe WOW!

WOW or the World of WearableArt and Collectible Cars Museum is like nothing I've ever seen before.


One of my favorites, Angel of a Different Kind,
made with latex, plastic, and fabric

WOW is an internationally renowned fashion design competition where designers create masterpieces that are worn in a show and used to create stories. The annual WOW show is held in Wellington, New Zealand, and showcases incredible works of art that the wearer shows off through movement. If it can be worn by a person, it can be in this show.

The WOW Museum houses more than 50 wearable works of art along with more than 140 classic cars. This museum is great for men, women, children, young and old. There's something for everybody.

WearableArts Side:

Entries from the Red category in 2017

I was absolutely blown away by some of these designs. The intricacies, the materials, the way it's used to tell a story is just so impressive. Fashion Week has nothing on WOW.

There are different categories every year. In 2017, there were Science Fiction, Red, and Illumination Illusion.

Some of the materials used in 2017 include:

• LED lights
• chain mail
• mesh crystals
• leather belts
• bicycle inner tubes
• cardboard
• foam
• sequins
• paint
• vinyl
• buttons
• felt
• wool
• plastic
• latex
• zippers
• PVC board
• spandex
• resin
• mirrored stainless steel
• hemp
• lycra

The 2018 season runs from September 27 - October 14 and is the 30th year of the show. Categories for this year are Reflective Surfaces, Under the Microscope, and Bizarre Bra. Also, 3 categories remain constant from year to year: Open, Aotearoa, and Avant-garde. Every year, there are awards for First-Time Entrant, Student Innovation, Sustainability, Wearable Technology, New Zealand Design, and International Awards for UK and Europe, Americas, Asia, and Australia and Pacific.

While the WOW show is always held in Wellington, there is an international exhibition that includes some of the works currently on display. The tour has been to Seattle, Washington, and Salem, Massachusetts, as well as other countries.

Below are more examples of the incredible pieces of art:



I feel like this is good inspiration for anyone who might want to make their own
prom dress, especially if their theme is Monte Carlo or Las Vegas!

Collectible Classic Cars Side:

The Nelson Classic Car Collection is one of the largest in Australasia. With more than 140 cars, you can easily see the evolution of the car.

Many of the cars here have gone through tons of restorative work to make sure they are visually appealing, but also to be able to drive. More than a few were still in driving condition and had their WOF (warrant of fitness, required in New Zealand to be driven on the road) updated recently.

The 100 Years of Motoring display has cars from 1908 (a Renault) to 2018 (Mazda MX5) and many, many more in between. There were Chevrolets, Ferraris, Mustangs and more. There were police cars, race cars, you name it, it was there.

I definitely don't know a lot about cars, but the vast amount of cars and the incredible condition some of these were in impressed even me. I'm sure any guy would love it and anyone who knows anything about the history of cars would drool.

Many of the cars were set up in front of iconic backdrops from the time when that car was popular.

See some of the cars set in their time below:

They even had the union jack-covered Jaguar, known as the "Shaguar" from the Austin Powers movie series.

Needless to say, I would HIGHLY recommend this museum to anyone visiting Nelson. For $24 per adult, it's absolutely worth every penny (even though New Zealand doesn't have pennies).

I probably could have spent hours there staring at the tiny details in each piece of art. And the cars were cool, too.

Bonus: Kaiteriteri (Beach No. 1)

Kaiteriteri also known as Kaiteri was not on my original list. But our hosts said it was a must-do, so we drove to this golden sand beach.

Like Cable Bay, the water here was also incredibly clear. We got there late in the day, so the shadows don't show the beach at its finest. But it definitely was a beautiful view.

With year-round sun and gorgeous views, there are plenty of things to do. Surfing, kayaking, hiking, you name it. Kaiteri is a launchpad for all sorts of activities. The Abel-Tasman, a long walking/hiking trail starts and/or ends here, so many people plan to incorporate Kaiteri in their trip.

Around 45 minutes from Nelson, Kaiteri was an easy drive from WOW. I thought it was going to be longer so we would see the sunset there, but it was so quick, we decided to make one more stop in our incredibly long day.

Tahunanui Beach at sunset

8. Tahunanui (Beach No. 2)

Known as Tahuna to the locals, Tahunanui Beach is situated right along the Tasman Bay and stretches for what looks like forever along. It's the main beach for Nelson and it's obvious why. With all the sunlight Nelson gets, the water is warmed and beach-goers can enjoy the shallow water far into the bay.

I wanted us to have a great view of the sunset and Tahuna definitely came through... But then the sun went down and it was way too cold to stay out there. It was time for dinner.

The suburb of Tahunanui looks out over Tahuna Beach and the Tasman Bay beyond

We went to Speight's Ale House, a pretty common sight in New Zealand, to watch the rugby and cheer on the All Blacks. For the first time probably ever, I ordered ribs. It was called the Pig Hunter and it definitely lived up to its name. I also got a peanut butter and banana smoothie (which I'm told is very American of me) and it was the most delicious smoothie I've ever had. I will be making them at home in the future.

The footie ended late, and since we were extremely tired, we headed back to the house and quickly conked out.

In the morning, we had a bit of time before we were going to leave, so we fit in one more bonus location to our trip.

Bonus: Rabbit Island / Moturoa (Beach No. 3)

Rabbit Island is a small island in Tasman Bay about 6 minutes from the house were staying at. The island is pretty small, 8 kilometres or 5 miles long. It was formed about 7,000 years ago. The island is part of a reserve. The Rabbit Island Recreational Reserve includes Rabbit Island, Rough Island, and Bird Island.

On our way out to the beach, we passed cyclists and fishermen with a gorgeous view of the snow-capped mountains.

Once at the beach, we had a beautiful view of the bay. The beach was relatively empty. There were tree roots and branches all along the shore.

The lack of buildings and amount of trees remind me of Hunting Island in South Carolina.

We walked along the beach and saw a pretty unobstructed view of the bay. No car noises, so sirens, nothing but the calming sound of the waves and the soft, forgiving sand under our feet.

It was cool, but not cold, with that never-ending sun beaming down on us. It was a great way to finish off our trip to Nelson.

There were a few things we didn't get to on the list including the Queen's Gardens and the Nelson Provincial Museum. I guess we will just have to make another trip!

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!

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

The Centre of New Zealand

Ever since I got here, I've been itching for an adventure. My trip at the holidays was action-packed, so sitting here getting cabin fever, I've been waiting to get out and about.

Josh's sister and her boyfriend were heading up to Nelson for the All Blacks game and they very graciously invited us.

Christ Church Cathedral

I've never considered myself a planner. I love spontaneity. But since our trip was going to be such a quick turnaround, I did lots of research, trying to get the most out of our day and a half. I had a list of about 13 things to do. And I think we accomplished the vast majority of the list.
 

A 5-hour drive from Christchurch, Nelson is on the top of the South Island and it's the oldest city in the South Island. It looks out onto the Tasman Bay. It's known for the amount of sun it gets. Nelson had the most sunlight hours in all of New Zealand, which was a nice change from the freezing cold we've been having in Darfield / Christchurch.

Our day in Nelson started at the markets, which actually wasn't on the list, but I'm glad we went. We walked up and down the artistic aisles and saw some very unique booths. They had lots of foodtrucks and so many hand-made crafts including pillow cases, soap, hand-painted dishes, jewelry, decorations, and more. We hadn't had breakfast, so Josh got a sandwich and I got a smoothie.

 

1. Christ Church Cathedral

Then we walked to the Christ Church Cathedral. It's a bit confusing since it's in Nelson, not Christchurch. But the cherry blossoms were blooming and it was beautiful. We walked up the stone staircase out the front of it and around to the inside. While I appreciate the beauty of cathedrals, they all kindof blur together. It was reminiscent of the old European cathedrals I've seen.

2. Jens Hansen - The Ringmaker

 

Around the corner, there's a jewelry store: Jens Hansen - Gold & Silversmith. However, Hansen is known under a different name now: The Ringmaker. It is really well known for making one ring... THE ONE RING. And more rings. From Lord of the Rings. So many rings.

 

"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them."

Because so many people come by asking about the famous ring, they created a separate studio where they display the movie rings and other similar works. In the display case were: 

• The 1990 - the original One Ring (carried throughout Middle-earth by Bilbo, Frodo, Gollum, and more before its destruction in Mount Doom);
• a ring designed for Aragorn (one of the main protagonists, played by Viggo Mortensen);
• a ring designed for Gandalf (the white wizard, played by Sir Ian McKellen);
• 3 variations of the ring designed for Elrond (half-elf, Lord of Rivendell and one of the mighty kings of old, played by Hugo Weaving);
• a ring for Galadriel (an elf, played by Cate Blanchett); and
• The Dark Lord's Ring (main antagonist, also known as Sauron).

For the low, low price of $5,490 NZD, you, too, can have your platinum version of The One Ring. A Sterling Silver version is available for $195. Other variations were also available for quite a price.

3. Centre of New Zealand

After we left the jewelry store, we went to the Centre of New Zealand.

Located on the top of Botanical Hill in Maitai Valley, the Centre of New Zealand was the central survey point in the 1800s. There are multiple ways to get to the top and I swear we took the one that had the most difficult incline. I was dying 10 minutes in. Luckily, the "walk" is really only about 15 minutes.

But boy was the view worth it.

At the top, you have a spectacular 360 degree view of Nelson and the Tasman Bay beyond. We stopped at the top, where the creators of this place, intuitively put lots of benches. We rested for a bit while I waited to get the perfect shot (Josh was extremely patient, as always).

Below, you'll find the photos from the Centre of New Zealand. 

 

 

 

A view of the Centre of New Zealand from the trail leading up to it

 

While our trip to Nelson was short, we did a ton of things, so my next post will be the next part of our trip. Stay tuned!