Walk to the Centre of NZ!

One of my favourite Nelson walks is to the Centre of NZ!  Is it really the Centre of New Zealand?  Well, geographically its not quite – but its not too far off either!  If you include Stewart Island, the true centre is a point in the Spooners Range in the Golden Downs Forest which you drive through on your way south to Murchison.

However, the top of the hill was used as a survey point in the late 1800’s.  At the time, there were isolated surveys for each province.  When it was decided to connect these up, John Spence Browning, the Chief Surveyor for the Nelson Land District was chosen to do the job, starting from his home base. Browning took the track to the summit of Botanical Hill and made this the starting point – and this led to the story that the spot was selected because it was the centre of New Zealand!

From Almond House Backpackers it is a ½ hour walk to the top of the hill – and from the top you will be rewarded with great views of Nelson and the district with the Western Ranges in the background.