Colls Dam Walk with wheelchair access, Time: 40 min This high quality walk takes in some good examples of tailraces and tailings as well as providing a pleasent lookout point above the historic Colls Dam and a lookout point at a memorial seat. The forest is mostly podocarp/hardwood with rimu, miro, rata, quintinia and kamahi being the most common species. Nelson Creek has had a varied goldmining history of success and decline from its beginnings in 1865, when it was rushed as a shallow creek working, which yielded shotty course gold. Some areas were rich in gold but finds were patchy. At the height of the rush over 1200 miners were scattered throughout Try Again Terrace downstream from Nelson Creek, but numbers fell almost immediately, once the productive ground was worked out.

• published: 31 Oct 2014
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