Tasman District

Tasman is the top of the South at its most idyllic: the Abel Tasman track, the golden curve of Golden Bay, hop gardens, apple orchards and Takaka, where the clocks run on island time and the locals like it that way. Farewell Spit hooks off the very top like the country’s pointing somewhere.

It’s a big, varied district. Motueka and Richmond do the practical work, the coast pulls the holidaymakers, and the further you go towards Golden Bay the more relaxed, and frankly more alternative, it gets. Lifestyle living is the whole point here, and people pay for it, though there are still corners with sensible prices.

There are over 160 suburbs and localities across Tasman. This page gathers them so you can compare without guessing: who lives where, what it costs, how the schools sit, and which spots are an easy run versus genuinely out there.

Beaches, hops and laid-back living. Pick a suburb and have a look.