The Braeburn Range is a mountain range in the

Tasman Region Tasman District () is a local government district in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It borders the Canterbury Region, West Coast Region, Marlborough Region and Nelson City. It is administered by the Tasman District Council, a ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

's South Island. It lies to the west of

Lake Rotoroa Lake Rotoroa (Māori: "long lake") may refer to the following New Zealand lakes: * Lake Rotoroa (Northland) * Lake Rotoroa (Tasman) * Lake Rotoroa (Hamilton, New Zealand) (or "Hamilton Lake"), Hamilton City, Waikato, New Zealand * Lake Rotoroa (W ...

and much of the eastern flank of the range is within the Nelson Lakes National Park. The range runs south-southeast, with a westwards curve at the northern end and several westward-trending spurs. The northernmost and highest peak of the range is the Mount Murchison overlooking the

Buller River The Buller River ( mi, Kawatiri) is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. One of the country's longest rivers, it flows for from Lake Rotoiti through the Buller Gorge and into the Tasman Sea near the town of Westport. Within the Bulle ...

. The southern endpoint of the range is Mount Hutton () above the Tiraumea Saddle. The higher Ella Range lies to the south. Other peaks include Mount Pickering (), Mount Cotton (), Mount Baring (), and Twins (). The bush line is around in this area, so only the two highest peaks are not covered in bush. There is a radio and television transmission mast on top of Mount Murchison. The area above the bush line on Mount Murchison is one of three isolated habitats for an as-yet unnamed species of large

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

land snail A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to the sea snails and freshwater snails. ''Land snail'' is the common name for terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells (those without shells are known as ...

, currently known as ''Powelliphanta'' "Nelson Lakes". Living beneath tussocks and mountain flax, these snails have survived summer grazing by sheep and cattle in the past. Pigs are still considered a threat. A more widespread variety, ''Powelliphanta'' "Matakitaki" is found in bush above 1200 metres south of Mount Murchison. It is also the only known site of ''Veronica societatis'', a small grassland hebe first discovered by members of the Nelson Botanical Society and named after the society in 2002. The area is popular for hunting, with red deer, pigs, chamois and goats to be found. The range is crossed by one track navigable by

four-wheel-drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

vehicles, the Braeburn Track, which connects the outlet of Lake Rotoroa with the upper

Mangles River The Mangles River is in the South Island of New Zealand. Its main tributary is the Tutaki River but it is also fed by water flowing off the Braeburn Range. It feeds into the Buller River near the town of Murchison. The river is popular dest ...

valley via a saddle at . The Tiraumea tramping track crosses the saddle at the southern end of the range, following the Tiraumea River.

References

{{Tasman District Mountain ranges of the Tasman District