December - The best season in New Zealand for travel to Nelson (South Island)!!

Last week, I went to Nelson with my husband. I think that the week between 25th – 30th was the best Summer’s days, because we had a nice time with sun, without winds and warm weather.

Well... I’ll describe to you my 4 days in Nelson day by day. If you don’t have a lot of time for hiking, you can use my suggestions below. I recommend you to stay around in Takaka, because the Nelson’s region is so far the beaches and you will need to drive a lot every day... I‘ve stayed in Nelson, but it didn’t work so good for me, because the distance between Nelson and Tasman’s beaches are 80km. However, it worth a visit to the Nelson’s beach (around the Port), it’s really beautiful. When you think about going to Nelson, check the tide table. If you want to get the best scenary, plan to go when the tide is high.

1st day: Kaiteriteri

I took the Aqua Taxi from Marahau. Many people use to tramp, because Marahau has tracks and campings, but I had just 4 days for visit the region. You should book the trip one day in advance by phone or in the office in Marahau/Kaiteriteri. In my opinion, this beach is the most beautiful in Nelson. The tide was high in the morning but in the afternoon we could see the tide lowering. It was a fantastic experience, when we saw the sand banks showing!

2nd day: Torrent Bay

When we arrived in Torrent Bay, the tide was low, and we saw the opposite from Kaiteriteri Beach... around 10am, the tide started to get high and covered all sand banks (the tide rises 5 meters and when it is low the beach draws back about 2km!).

The Aqua Taxi picked me up in Anchorage, it’s next to Torrent Bay. If you go in low tide, you will walk just 1.6km between Torrent Bay and Anchorage Bay, however, in the high tide, you will walk about 4km, because you should use the trail. In this day we went to the Cleopatra's Pool, but it is a normal waterfall for me... if you are tired it won’t worth.

Tip: remember for book Aqua Taxi one day in advance, you need to book it online, by phone or in the office in Marahau! The Aqua Taxi leaves you in the beaches and returns to pick you up 5 or 6 hours later (you book both arrival and departure with them).

3rd day: Puponga

I walked a lot in this day. I don’t recommend it, however, if you want to see a dune, there are a lot of them. If you get lucky, you can see a whale in the beach, but I didn’t see it. I just saw dunes and more dunes and I found sea animal’s bones in the sand...

In the same day we went to Harwood’s Hole, it’s not recommended for children. There you can see just a portion of the hole. It’s a huge hole (357 metres), but perhaps it's better for a climber, because you won’t see anything from there…I took a picture, but it is not good...

4th day: Nelson Lakes National Park


The last day, we went to the Nelson Lakes, there you can do a barbecue (if you have equipment), swim in the lake, use a kayak or just take a nice picture.

In the afternoon, you can go to the Nelson's beach (Tahunanui). But, check the tide in this beach, because the tide needs to be high.

The Nelson's Centre is good for eating, shopping or just sightseeing. I’ve heard good opinions about the Penguino Gelato Ice Cream, but I didn't go there.

Tip: You should mind about foods and beverages, because in the beaches don’t have bars or restaurants!

My brother went to Nelson last year, but he tramped. He told me that he walked over 10km per day and he slept in his tent.

Nelson has many options for sightseeing, and you can enjoy it as you wish :)