Nelson

The small fishing and holiday town of Nelson is located on the Glenelg River, just 4 kilometres east of the state border with South Australia and around 70 kilometres north-west of Portland.

Nelson's town centre includes a hotel, general store, roadhouse and a visitor information centre. The river flows through the town centre and there are scenic parks, jetties and boat ramps along the river banks.

Cruise operators offer informative trips along the Glenelg River for visitors, and well worth experiencing is the journey through the 15 kilometre limestone river gorge with cliffs up to 50 metres high rising on both sides of the river.

As the Glenelg River heads south of Nelson's town centre, it empties into Oxbow Lake which then has an outlet into the Southern Ocean. There are sandy beaches along the lake shore and at the river mouth which offer sheltered swimming. Swimming is not advised at the ocean beach due to dangerous undertows.

Nelson is a central base from which to explore numerous attractions in the region. There is the Lower Glenelg National Park which features the Princess Margaret Rose Caves, the Discovery Bay Coastal Park, the historical South Australian town of Port MacDonnell (30 km) and the large regional city of Mount Gambier in South Australia (35 km).