Last November during our holiday in Nelson, the other half and I drove out to Mapua Wharf which is about a 25 minute drive out of town. Unfortunately we were there in early Summer while it was very overcast and drizzly so it wasn't very busy there but usually the shops in and around that area are active with visitors. There are cafes, a bicycle hire shop, a boat club, a real estate office, a wine bar, a maritime museum, an art gallery, a homewares shop, a restaurant and a hat shop.
We were 2 of the very few people around that day so we each took turns standing behind the sign while the other took a cheesy photo. The creature artistically decorated on the bottom right of the sign is what's known as a Taniwha. Up until February this year I had long hair so this was just before I had it all cut into a shorter style.
If you click on the above image it'll show you a larger shot of where it is located near the top area of the South Island. A bit of history on the area...the first Pakeha (white person) resident was a James Heatly who was on the electoral role in 1866. Apparently he was a fisherman, later trapped rabbits and took them by boat to Nelson for sale but according to some research I've read that evidence of the area first being settled by Maori around 900AD to 1450AD due to a discovery of middens, tools and human bones - they pretty much kept to themselves and weren't raided by the other tribes in the North Island.
Pretty interesting really. Linking up with Skywatch Friday.