nelson - Situated at the top of the south island and well known for it's arts and crafts scene.
population: 54,500 (probably more if you include the ever expanding suburbs)

Cute and relatively small, but it's clearly expanding with typical urban sprawl and becoming more and more of a car dependant hellscape. Haven't really gotten to spend too much time here yet. The population seems notably more conservative than most other places I've visited in aotearoa.

gravity well

Nelson's own climbing gym. Pretty tiny.

kaiteriteri

A nice nearby beach.

kimchi and wasabi

A super fast pick your own sushi place with loads of vegan sushi.