Rotokura Cable Bay is a side trip from State Highway 6, shortly before the northern outskirts of Nelson. The English name of the bay arose from it being the landing site for the first trans-Tasman telegraph cable in 1876. It is still the site for a fibre optic cable between the North Island and the South Island. The bay is unusual in that it is defined by a pebble beach and boulder bank connecting the mainland with Pepin Island. Behind the boulder bank is the Wakapuaka Estuary.
There are picnic facilities on the boulder bank, plus access to the Cable Bay Walkway at the southwest end. Still, the real attraction is the striking photos you can get looking across the boulder bank to the intensely green Pepin Island.
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