Nelson tourist information

Nelson stands on the southern corner of Tasman Bay, on the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand and is the administrative centre for Nelson Province. Nelson received its name in honour of the 1st Viscount Nelson and Admiral of the fleet that defeated both the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Many of the roads and public areas around the city are named after people and ships associated with that battle. Trafalgar Street is the main city street.

Nelson's Maori name, Whakatu, means "a place to stand", literally meaning "home".

Nelson Province has beaches and a sheltered harbour. The harbour entrance is protected by a natural breakwater known as The Boulder Bank, which also reduces the effects of the tide on Nelson city's beach, Tahunanui. This allows for some of the safest sea bathing in the country.

Nelson is surrounded by mountains on three sides with Tasman Bay on the other. It functions as the gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park, the Kahurangi National Park, and Rotoiti and Rotoroa in the Nelson Lakes National Park. It is a centre for both ecotourism and adventure tourism, and has a high reputation among caving enthusiasts due to several prominent cave systems around Takaka Hill and Mount Owen.

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