December 31, 2004
Location Guide - Rabbit Island, Nelson
Location: Rabbit Island, Front Beach
Nearest City: Nelson.
Surface: Hard tidal sand.
Best Wind: Northerly, Sea breeze.
Best Time: 3 hours either side of low tide.
Size: approx 100 meters wide (depending on tide) and 8km long.
GPS Co-ordinates:
Lat 41.271618
Long 173.135768
Review:
Rabbit Island is just 15 minutes drive from Nelson (near the top of the South Island) and is a popular picnic spot. The island is reachable by a bridge that crosses the estuary behind the island. Most of the island is pine plantations, with a public picnic area in the middle of the front beach. The gates are closed at sunset and there is no overnight stays allowed so be ready to leave before it gets dark. There is a large sign near the entrance gates which lets you know what time the gates will be closing that day (in the middle of summer its around 9pm).
The beach itself is about 8km long but the local Council have requested that kite fliers use the West end only (although there has been no signage, legislation, or even discussion to support this request, as far as we know). There are several reasons for this request...
1. The Eastern tip of the island is close to Nelson's airport and the approach path of some flights.
2. The public picnic area in the middle of the beach can get a little crowded at peak times. We recommend caution at these times, but often the beach is almost deserted, especially in the winter or if the sun is not out!
3. Horse riders often use the East end of the beach and kites can spook the horses.
Common sense should prevail here, if the beach is particularly crowded, avoid the picnic area, if you see a horse and rider turn back. I often use this beach but rarely see any horses, and there is only a few days each year when the picnic area is too crowded to buggy through safely.
This beach is especially suited to speed runs, being long and flat with virtually no obstacles.
Nelson Kite Club hold a monthly meet here on the first or second Sunday of each month (depending on which has the best afternoon low tide). Check the NKC calendar for dates and times. All kite fliers are welcome.
Looking towards the West end of the Beach.
Looking East towards Nelson City.
Posted by murrayneill at 02:08 PM | Comments (1)