Forest Walks
There are excellent walks in the Naseby Forest area, which are also full of well-preserved and documented gold artefacts and workings, including piping and several of the hydraulic monitors used for sluicing the faces along with some excellent explanatory boards. A number of pleasant picnic spots and forest walks (750m-3km one way; 30min-90min; or a circuit walk of 10km, 6hr) are easily accessible from Naseby, signposted throughout, and also listed in the Naseby Forest leaflet and map available free from Earnslaw Ore. To witness the effects of former sluicing at their most dramatic, follow the One Tree Hill Track past dramatic honey-coloured cliffs entirely carved by water.
Mountain Biking
Naseby has everything the MTB enthusiast can wish for; fast downhill sections, natural berns, good drainage and a good 2 days riding never on the same track. Families can have heaps of fun and serious bikers will be seriously challenged.
Otago Rail Trail which is approximately 150km over the redeveloped railway line between Middlemarch to Clyde.
Mt Ida Water-race which is 65 kms of zero gradient, meandering through forest, farmland and scenic countryside to St Bathans. A perfect expedition if you are after a relaxing journey on an 120 year old water-race!
Dunstan Trail which over 100 kms and can be spread over two days.
Alexandra Wine-trail which is a bicycle tour around some of New Zealand's best vineyards.
Otago Rail Trail
In 1993 D.O.C. bought the old railway land and built a 150km recreational trail for walkers, cyclists and horse riders that runs from Middlemarch across the Maniototo Plain to Clyde. The trail winds through gorges over terrain that's best described as 'middle earth'. Over picturesque railway bridges and through old brick tunnels built around the turn of the century. Along the route the local pub come backpacker now serve either a Speights or a cappuccino.
Curling History
Curling, which can be likened to bowls on ice, is one of the rarer New Zealand sports.
Introduced from Scotland by gold miners who came to Otago in the early 1860s it became a pastime of the miners when the severe winters in the interior produced sharp and continued spells of frosty weather, putting a temporary check on gold mining, and providing ideal conditions for curling.
Curling stones, imported from Scotland, are carefully shaped and smoothed pieces of granite fitted with a handle which can be changed from top to bottom. The reason for this is that the two sides are prepared differently for varying ice conditions. The stones vary in weight, although an average would be about 12kg. If they are not broken they will last for generations.
The object of the game is to get as many of your team's stones closer to the tee than your opponents'. The curler slides the stones as close as possible to a jack. The tee, which is in the centre of the circle, need only be a mark on the ice. Each stone that is inside a previously marked out area called a "house" (the circle scratched in the ice with a 7 ft stick ) and closer to the tee than your opponents' counts as one point. This constitutes an end. Play is then resumed in the opposite direction by the lead of the winning team. The final score is determined after 21 ends have been played - the highest scoring team being the winner.
Stones travelling down the ice have a tendency to curve or "curl", hence the name curling. By skilful propulsion and the use of the natural imperfections, or bias, in the ice, the stones can be manoeuvred towards the tee and at the same time the other stones avoided. A unique part of curling is the concept of sweeping. Players vigorously sweep, or brush, the ice in front of the stone to keep it moving. The friction caused by the sweeping polishes the ice by briefly heating the surface, which makes the stones travel farther and straighter.
"He positioned his broom and he asked for 'tee weight'.
"Just draw 'through the port' and we'll sweep you in mate."
But the stone went astray as some stones often do
And a black stone moved up and the Black Hats sat two..."
"Just draw 'through the port' and we'll sweep you in mate."
But the stone went astray as some stones often do
And a black stone moved up and the Black Hats sat two..."
The Clubs
The oldest club in existence, dating from 1795, is the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, the mother club of clubs in Scotland, Canada, the United States and Sweden as well as in New Zealand
The first club in New Zealand was the Haldon Club in the Mackenzie Country, but it only lasted for a few years. The Dunedin Club was formed in 1873, the first Secretary/Treasurer being Mr T Calendar.
After a public meeting on May 31st 1878 held in the Naseby Town Hall The Mt Ida Curling Club was formed. The first challenge between Dunedin and Mt Ida took place August 4th 1881. Mt Ida won both games and the match and the medal for which the competition had taken place, sent out by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club for competition among New Zealand Clubs. "The Nasebyites, although gratified at the local teams success, could not help but admire the perfect good nature with which the visitors accepted defeat which was nonetheless hard on them, having travelled one hundred miles to receive it. Thus the first official match in the southern hemisphere had been accomplished in Naseby .."
Late in the 1882 season two new clubs were welcomed in Central Otago ( Kyeburn and Clyde). On 2nd October 1883 six members resigned from the Mt Ida Club, and formed a new club - the Otago Central Club.
An adage was to stick with these two clubs for many years; the Otago Central Club were referred to as the "Moleskins" and the Mt Ida the "Boiled shirts", i.e. Miners and Professionals. This was a jocular way of describing the members of each club.
1902 another breakaway from Mt Ida saw the Naseby Curling Club formed.
Today there are fourteen clubs in the Naseby Curling Council. Five are based in Naseby itself being Mt Ida (Boiled shirts), Central Otago (Moleskins), Kiwi (Sticky beaks), Naseby (Naseby) and Pioneer ( Ladies). Balmoral, Dunedin, Garibaldi, Hamiltons, Kyeburn, Ranfurly, Serpentine, Wedderburn, and Windwhistle make up the rest in the district. Tradition and passion for the game is as strong as ever. Clubs base their clubrooms in the local Hotels of the area. Today most of the trophies competed for in the region reside on the top shelf of the local pubs. But make no mistake, the Curling Silverware in the Maniototo is a passionately coveted commodity. And none more so than curling's Holy Grail, 'The Baxter's Cup'
Golf
Naseby has an excellent 9 hole golf course on the edge of the Black forest. Cost per round $10 per person for 18 holes or part thereof. There are other Maniototo golf courses (well maintained) all are within an hours drive of Naseby.
Fishing
Some of the world's best fishing can be found in the lakes, rivers and dams close to Naseby. Enthusiastic anglers from the USA and Europe visit the area every year to enjoy some of New Zealand's best-kept fishing secrets. The headwaters of the Taieri River fan out into an extensive wetland area known as the Styx Valley. The river then meanders quietly across the Maniototo Plain towards the Taieri Gorge. This slow paced river provides fishing for most methods but possibly suits the spin angler best as it allows for fishing downstream. In addition to the river, there are a number of dams and ponds. We can arrange licenses and fishing guides in the area and access to most fishing places is easy.
The season runs from 01 October to 30 April, and the limit bag for the Taieri is six fish.
