Atawhai and North Nelson Walks

Time: 40 Minutes

Area: Atawhai

Note: There is a bus stop in front of the Clifton Terrace School, so if you live in the city it's an ideal excursion for the school holidays.

Start Location: From the bus stop you walk along Atawhai Drive to the starting point. If you drive, park in the loop of Atawhai Drive just past the big green sign pointing to Marybank Road.

Download the Marybank Walk map.

Route directions

Walk up Marybank Road to the reserve which is signposted as a coastal forest remnant. Partway through the forest is a sloping stretch of lawn which used to be the orchard of the original Marybank homestead. Nowadays there is a seat and playground and makes for a pleasant place to sit. The path takes you uphill through nikau, kawa-kawa, ngaio, kahikatea and cabbage trees. Some planting around the reserve has been done by the local school children. Carry on up to the top of the reserve where you turn left to rejoin Marybank Road.

Walk on down the hill and turn right into Seaton Street, which follows the contour of the hill.

Take a left turn downhill into Tresillian Ave, where there is a small reserve with a playing area and picnic table on your left. Turn left into Atawhai Dr and take the footpath along in front of the school, through to where it leads behind a strip of flax and ngaio, back to the Atawhai loop where you started.

Time: 1 - 11/2 hours

Area: Atawhai

Start Location: The memorial Mariano Gargiulo gates on Atawhai Drive. The cemetery is also accessible from Atawhai Drive north of the Miyazu Japanese Gardens.

Download the Wakapuaka Cemetery Walk map.

Route directions

Walk up the hill between the silver birches and rhododendrons - on your right is the memorial lawn. At the top beside the crematorium and chapel is a small gate to the Jewish section where the headstones are inscribed in Hebrew. Walk back down to the chapel and up the hill and over the cattle stop. On the left is a Wesleyan block and on the right the old Catholic block. Rosaline Frank (1864-1954), a noted photographer is buried here. There is also the Chapel of St Michael - known as Father Garin's Chapel after Nelson's first parish priest, Antoine Marie Garin (1810-89).

Follow the road to the top of the slope where the Presbyterian section has some typically ornate Victorian headstones. From there take the road left and walk past the general block, with the Wesleyan block on the left.

James Smith Cross (1817-82), Nelson's first Harbour Master is buried here. Enjoy the view of the city. Back at the junction on the right is the Anglican block which has the graves of well known water-colour artist John Gully (1819-88), and explorer and prospector George Fairweather Moonlight (1832-84). Leave the road a little way along and walk up the hill on the right. At the top is the obelisk memorial to the Maungatapu murder victims.

Either retrace your steps, or take the road beside the memorial and follow it round the back of the cemetery. Further down the hill, walk through the tall oaks and back up, noting canning industrialist Samuel Kirkpatrick's (c 1854-1925) grave on the right. Follow the road past the grave of Edith Bunker (1916-96) on the right. Edith Bunker left a sizeable donation to the local branch of the Salvation Army that helped fund their new premises.

Veer to the left and take in the view of the Boulder Bank. On your right is the RSA section, then the Catholic section and a general section on the left. The old Presbyterian block is in front of you at the sharp right hand corner. Follow the road back down the hill and out the gates.

Thanks to the Nelson Branch of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists for developing this walk.

Time: 1 hour plus

Area: Nelson North

Start Location: St John's Church, Hira

Download the Teal Valley and Country Churchyards map.

Route directions

Head out of Nelson towards the Whangamoa Saddle and drive to St John's Church at the turn-off to Cable Bay.

Most old churches have a steeple, but St John's is unusual because it also has a chimney! The vicar used to come to St John's by horse and trap and there was a bed and washstand for him to stay overnight in the vestry while he visited his farming congregation. The churchyard, 100m uphill, has gravestones of early families, many still resident in the Cable Bay area.

Back in the car, drive on to Teal Valley, a well signposted right turn just before the Whangamoa Hill. Park on the grass verge and set off for the 50 minute return walk up the valley. At the end of the public road local artist and potter Christopher Vine's garden provides a view from the gate of a 'host of golden daffodils' in the spring time and a year round look at the relics he has rescued from Nelson historic buildings. Return and walk back down the valley.

On the way back to Nelson take the second driveway on the left after the Wakapuaka Tennis Courts and before the Glen turn-off, to the old St Andrew's Cemetery. There is an interpretive panel which gives you the history of the old church which stood on this site from 1865-1960, and graves which reveal the hard and often short lives of the early European settlers.

Time: see route directions

Area: The Glen

Start Location: To get to The Glen, head north from Nelson along State Highway 6 and turn left onto Glen Road just before the Gentle Annie Saddle. You will find the start point for the walks at the car park at the end of Glen Road by the
seaside.

Download the Three Glen Walk map.

Route directions

The Residential Loop - 30 minutes

Head off from the carpark and take a right turn into Athol Street, follow it around the hill until it leads back to the flat, where you turn right onto the main road back to the carpark. There is a playground on the left of the carpark, and a short exploration of the Boulder Bank makes this a good family outing.

Walkway Lookout - 45 minutes

Note: Please leave cars parked at the carpark. This walkway is on private land: no dogs are allowed and it is closed after nightfall and during the lambing season.

From the carpark you can walk to the top of Airlie Street where the walkway begins. Take a left turn before the woolshed and cross the stream to follow the track around the side of the hill. This will require stout footwear after rain. Where the road forks, carry on with the upper track. A 20 - 30 minute climb is rewarded with a spectacular view right along the Boulder Bank to the city - and a seat to enjoy it. The Cable Bay walkway continues on for those more energetic.

The Boulder Bank Drive Walk - 40 minutes

The Boulder Bank is a natural ‘sea wall’ which stretches for 13km, protecting Nelson Haven from the waters of Tasman Bay. The rocks have been washed southward from Mackay’s Bluff and the small stones on top make for easier walking, particularly at the Glen end where the Boulder Bank is stable and no longer affected by tides or rock movement. After passing some farm sheds, the next building is the Cawthron Institute fish hatchery where shellfish spat are hatched for experimental use. Walk as far as the inclination takes you, and then return to the carpark.

Time: 40 minutes

Area: Cable Bay

Note: Be mindful of electric fences; just down the track on the left is a stile leading to a good swimming spot. Along the walk there are several stiles that give you access to the river.

Start Location: Drive north of Nelson City along State Highway 6 and turn left onto Cable Bay Road. Turn right off Cable Bay Road into Māori Pa Road which leads to Delaware Bay. Continue down Māori Pa Road and just across the bridge you'll find a sign indicating the Paremata Reserve and a parking area. This is the start of the walk.

Download the Paremata Flats map.

Route directions

From the parking area, carry on down the fence-line. At the curve in the river there is a big stand of pukatea with an access stile over to the river. Continue to follow the fence and take the gate through to the next paddock.

Continue following the fence until you reach another gate (mind the electric fence).

Note: Over the river is the DOC Cable Bay Reserve with some large titoki and pukatea. Go through the gate which leads into a patch of bush with kowhai, totara and kahikatea. In the spring, when the kowhai is in flower, woodpigeons, tui and fantails enjoy the nectar. You might also see herons and spoonbills further out on the mudflats.

You can cross a small stream to walk on down to the estuary. Looking straight out from the estuary is Pepin Island, to the left is Cable Bay and to the right is Bishop's Peninsula and behind it, Delaware Bay.

Retrace your steps to the carpark. Take the opportunity to drive to the end of the public road. You will pass Bishop's Peninsula which is a Māori Reserve, and see the estuary behind Delaware Bay. The bay is named for the famous shipwreck in 1865 where Hūria Mātenga gained fame and a gold watch for her role in rescuing the crew of the brig Delaware.

Please note: The Cable Bay Walkway closes annually for lambing 1 August – 7 October. The Walkway also closes if there is a high fire risk.

Time: 3-4 hours one way

Area: Nelson's north coast

Note: A good way to do this walk is to arrange for two parties, leaving from each end with a swap of car keys over lunch. The walkway is closed during the hours of darkness and during lambing - check with DOC.

Start Location: Head north from Nelson along State Highway 6 turning left onto Glen Road just before the Gentle Annie Saddle. Drive to the end of the road and leave your car at the car park.

Download the Cable Bay Walkway map.

Route directions

Walk up Airlie Street to the start of the walkway. There is a loop track at this stage so you can choose your route (see Walk 19).

The 4WD track which goes straight ahead on the right of the woolshed is less steep. This track winds up the hill through stream crossings and gates. Where the 4WD track takes a right turn, take a hard right straight up the hill to the next walkway sign. Carry on up the grass paddock to the airstrip where there is a seat with a view to reward your climb, and signs indicating the downhill loop.

The track carries on downhill to the right of the seat. At the top of the airstrip there are seats, toilets, an interpretive panel and a gate to the next section of the walkway, which is downhill. The view is of Pepin Island and D'Urville Island in the distance.

The walkway enters a forest of whiteywood, pigeonwood and tawa, then into beech forest. This part of the walk is a QEII National Trust Protected Open Space and there are species such as lancewood and nikau coming away underneath the canopy of trees. About here you should meet your mates for lunch if you've organized a key swap.

The track carries on uphill and downhill with the beech merging into another band of coastal forest. Then you are back onto paddocks with a view out to sea and over Cable Bay. The farm with its tennis courts used to be the site of the extensive buildings of the cable station, New Zealand's first modern communication link with the world. The cable connected New Zealand and Australia between 1876 and 1914, when it was shifted to Titahi Bay. It offered settlers a four day connection with home compared to six weeks by sea mail.

Follow the markers to the interpretive panel at the other end of the walkway.