Nelson Activities: Markets, Skydiving, Craft Beer

October 30, 2026

Nelson (Whakatu) is the main town on Tasman Bay, at the northern tip of the South Island. Visitors come for weekend markets, a peanut butter factory tour, skydiving over Abel Tasman, canyoning, a flying fox and some of New Zealand’s best craft beer. All prices are NZD.

One safety note applies to almost everything on this page: weather, tides, floods and slips close roads and tracks at short notice. Look at DOC track alerts and NZTA Journeys the week you travel, and again before you drive Takaka Hill.

At a glance

Activity	Where	Typical cost
Nelson Market	Montgomery Square	Free to browse
Farmers’ Market	23 Halifax Street	Free to browse
Pic’s Peanut Butter World tour	Stoke	25 adult
Tandem skydive	Motueka	From about 499
Canyoning	Abel Tasman National Park	About 339 with water taxi
Skywire flying fox	Cable Bay	Bundles about 215

Markets

Saturday is market day. Nelson Market fills Montgomery Square from 8:00 until 13:00 whatever the weather. Wednesday has the Farmers’ Market, also 8:00 to 13:00, beside Elma Turner Library at 23 Halifax Street. If you want an evening version, Kirby Fridays runs from about 16:30 to 21:00 on Friday. A Sunday car-boot market sometimes uses Montgomery Square, so ask locally.

Peanut butter tour

Pic’s Peanut Butter World is at 49 Saxton Road, Stoke. Book the one-hour guided tasting, which runs on weekdays only: 8:30 to 16:00 between October and April, and 8:30 to 15:00 from May to September. Adults pay 25 and take home a 380 g jar. Students and seniors pay 20. Under-19s are free, and so are Nelson Tasman residents who carry proof of address. Anyone with a peanut allergy should stay away.

Skydiving, canyoning and the Skywire

The Skydive New Zealand drop zone at 16 College Street, Motueka, is a drive of about 55 minutes from Nelson. Jumps are tandem, from 16,500 ft, and prices begin around 499. Abel Tasman Canyons lead groups through Torrent River, Waterfall Creek, Blue Creek, Doom Creek and Falls River, always within the national park. The minimum age for canyoning is 12.

At Cable Bay Adventure Park (194 Cable Bay Road) the Skywire is a 1.6 km flying fox, each direction, reaching 100 km/h with four people clipped on together. Riders start at age 6. Wind and rain stop operations. Spectators pay about 14.

Craft beer

Tasman grows over 95 percent of the hops in New Zealand. Three taps worth visiting are McCashin’s at 660 Main Road in Stoke, The Free House inside a former church building, and the Hop Federation taproom at 627 Main Road in Riwaka. Opening times shift, so look at each website first.

Biking and a ferry ride

Tasman’s Great Taste Trail loops through Nelson, Richmond, Brightwater, Wakefield, Mapua, Motueka and Kaiteriteri. Sections have been affected by forestry work and storm repairs, so read the trail notices. Cyclists can take the Mapua Ferry from Mapua Wharf to Rabbit Island in about 10 minutes. Leave dogs at home, since they are not allowed on the island’s trail.