Going to the wall in the nicest way

There are two types of people in this town: people who swim and people who don't. Personally, I think living in Nelson and not being into the water makes about as much sense as living in Hong Kong and not being into Chinese food.

We are so spoilt for choice when it comes to places to go for a dip. There are the obvious spots like the Maitai River and Tahunanui.

Then there is the Glen, Cable Bay and, if you don't mind the drive, the stunning Lee River. With the exception of Rabbit Island, I'm crazy about all of them.

What have I got against Rabbit Island? It's boring, that's what. I know many of you will be shaking your heads right now, but, seriously, I've never understood why so many Nelson residents regularly drive all the way to Rabbit Island when most of them live only a few minutes from Tahunanui.

Unlike Tahunanui, Rabbit Island is a characterless, straight strip of sand with all the personality of a new subdivision. Take a walk along it and nothing changes. It's monotony in beach form.

Time spent strolling along Tahunanui, on the other hand, is always a voyage of discovery. The sea is constantly sculpting it into different shapes and textures, and there are always people writing messages in the sand and building sandcastles.

There are planes, kite surfers, and, if you walk far enough, dogs of every size, shape and colour madly racing in all directions.

Yep, give me Tahunanui over Rabbit Island any day of the week, especially since the completion of the new Nelson Youth Council barbecue area with its wonderful sculptures by Darryl Frost, Grant Scott, Adrienne Tait and Sean Walker.

Made from recycled materials, including beams from the demolished Awatere rail bridge, the artworks have a laidback majesty appropriate to their setting.

They also look as though they'll stand everything the elements and the odd useless munter can throw at them.

Speaking of useless munters, Tahunanui's Back Beach has become a nicer place to be since the sea washed away the car park where people used to be able to virtually drive on to the beach.

The area used to be popular with those sorts of Nelsonians who like to park up, crank the stereo, look staunch and loudly swear their heads off before departing at speed, leaving bottles and McDonald's packaging all over the place.

Thanks to the erosive powers of the Blind Channel, these individuals have lost one of their prime look-at-me spots and don't seem to be spending as much time down there.

And while the Back Beach is a great spot for a swim, my favourite remains the wall on Rocks Rd. Whoever decided to include steps into the design of that wall deserves a backdated Nelsonian of the Year Award.

At high tide it is easily the most refreshing place on the waterfront to jump, dive or flop into Tasman Bay. No long walk to get to a suitable depth required, just launch yourself and, before you know it, you're hanging with the fishes.

There is always a good vibe on the steps as well. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the wall attracts a certain kind of Nelsonian: the kind who loves water but can live without sand.

It is also an excellent place for observing how attracted humans are to activity and each other.

Typically, swimmers arrive, take in the view, take a deep breath and hurl themselves into the water. This is usually followed by a burst of swimming before they stop, turn around and then spend the rest of their time in the water looking at the people on the wall and the cars driving around along the road, their backs turned on one of the best views in town.

If you haven't had a swim from the wall yet, then you owe it to yourself to get down there while it's still warm. I just have one request – if you feel the urge to announce "this is just like Greece", as many people do, please don't. The wall is not like Greece – Greece is like the wall.

- © Fairfax NZ News