It was pouring with rain first thing, which didn't look too promising, but had cheered up considerably by the time we set off for the 50 minute drive into Nelson. We drove along the waterfront past some lovely looking restaurants and parked in the town centre. We set off for the weekly Saturday morning market held in ... Square which is down in all the guide books as a 'must see' while you are in the area. We found it reasonably easily down an alley way off ... Street. The market was, I think, smaller than we had envisaged but was nonetheless entertaining. A jumble of lively stalls selling all manner of fresh produce such as fruit and vegetables, flowers and cheeses interspersed with a number of stalls selling a variety of interesting arts and crafts. There were also lots of very tempting food options which we steered ourselves firmly away from as it was not that long since breakfast! We wandered around for about half an hour and managed to buy nothing more than some fresh macadamia nuts so considered that to be quite an achievement!

Nelson is much bigger than a lot of the little towns and settlements you see while travelling around New Zealand but even so it has a small town feel to it and, as you walk around, most people seem to know each other. We wandered down by the river, past some of the lovely park area and then past the cathedral which is set dramatically at the top of some steep stone steps.

Back at the car we drove off in search of some Japanese style gardens in the north of the town. We never actually found them but instead, just as we seemed to be leaving the town again by accident, drove up a very steep hill to our left and found ourselves in a fascinating residential area