Mount Stuart is a rural locality and settlement in South Otago, New Zealand. It is located between Manuka Creek and Glenore on State Highway 8, approximately halfway between Milton and Waitahuna. It sits close to the upper reaches of the west branch of the Tokomairiro River, just below the confluence with the Manuka Stream. [1]
Mount Stuart is notable for its 442-metre (1,450 ft) tunnel (also known as the Manuka Creek tunnel), formerly part of an access line for the Roxburgh Branch rail line, which is now open as a walking track. [2] The 7.7 MW Mount Stuart Wind Farm, located 4km to the northwest of the settlement, was commissioned in 2012. [3] The wind farm sits atop the promontory which gives the settlement its name, at an altitude of 434 metres (1,424 ft). [4]
Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, as of 2014, is listed as 3,724 metres. It sits in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite challenge for mountain climbers. Aoraki / Mount Cook consists of three summits: from south to north, the Low Peak, the Middle Peak and the High Peak. The summits lie slightly south and east of the main divide of the Southern Alps, with the Tasman Glacier to the east and the Hooker Glacier to the southwest. Mount Cook is ranked 10th in the world by topographic isolation.
The Clutha River is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast 338 kilometres (210 mi) through Central and South Otago from Lake Wānaka in the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean, 75 kilometres (47 mi) south west of Dunedin. It is the highest volume river in New Zealand, and the swiftest, with a catchment of 21,960 square kilometres (8,480 sq mi), discharging a mean flow of 614 cubic metres per second (21,700 cu ft/s). The river is known for its scenery, gold-rush history, and swift turquoise waters. A river conservation group, the Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group, is working to establish a regional river parkway, with a trail, along the entire river corridor.
The Taieri River is the fourth-longest river in New Zealand and is in Otago in the South Island. Rising in the Lammerlaw Range, it initially flows north, then east around the Rock and Pillar range before turning southeast, reaching the sea 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Dunedin.
Milton, formerly known as Tokomairiro or Tokomairaro, is a town of over 2,000 people, located on State Highway 1, 50 kilometres to the south of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand. It lies on the floodplain of the Tokomairaro River, one branch of which loops past the north and south ends of the town. This river gives its name to many local features, notably the town's only secondary school, Tokomairiro High School.
Beaumont is a small town in inland Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on the Clutha River / Mata-Au six kilometres southeast of Raes Junction, between Roxburgh and Balclutha. Beaumont is connected to Milton and Roxburgh by State Highway 8.
Romahapa is a locality in the Catlins region of Otago in New Zealand's South Island. It is located between the towns of Balclutha and Owaka. The last shop closed in 1977.
Glenomaru is a small settlement in The Catlins, an area of the southern South Island of New Zealand. It is located 10 kilometres north of Owaka on the main road to Balclutha. On 7 July 1891, a branch line railway from the Main South Line in Balclutha was opened to Glenomaru, and the village remained the terminus of the line until it was extended to Tahora on 16 December 1895. This line ultimately terminated in Tahakopa and was known as the Catlins River Branch. It closed on 27 February 1971 and a sawmill now exists on the site of Glenomaru station, though some of the railway's old formation can be seen in the surrounding area and the Hunts Road tunnel is in the vicinity and can be walked.
Tahakopa is a small settlement in The Catlins, an area of the southern South Island of New Zealand. It is located 25 kilometres northeast of Waikawa on the Tahakopa River. On 17 February 1915, Tahakopa became the terminus of the Catlins River Branch railway and retained this status until the branch line was closed on 27 February 1971. From the line's opening until 12 August 1956, a railway locomotive depot was based in the village. The old station building and goods shed still stand today.
The Roxburgh Branch was a branch line railway built in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island that formed part of the country's national rail network. Originally known as the Lawrence Branch, it was one of the longest construction projects in New Zealand railway history, beginning in the 1870s and not finished until 1928. The full line was closed in 1968.
Tahora, later also known as Parae, is a locality in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island, about one kilometre north of Owaka located at the Ōwaka River. Previously on a railway line, Tahora was a request stop. Today, there is little trace of the settlement and only parts of the railway formation remains visible.
Fortification is a locality in the western part of the Catlins region of Southland in New Zealand's South Island. Nearby settlements include Quarry Hills and Waikawa to the southeast, Tokanui to the southwest, and Waimahaka to the west. It is over 50 km east of Southland's main centre, Invercargill.
Finegand is a locality in the South Otago region of New Zealand's South Island.
Otanomomo is a locality in the South Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated on the banks of the Koau Branch of the Clutha River, roughly six kilometres south of Balclutha. Nearby settlements include Finegand to the north, Paretai, Puerua, and Romahapa to the south, and Waitepeka to the west.
The Mt Stuart Wind Farm is a wind farm in New Zealand constructed by Pioneer Generation. It is located close to the settlements of Manuka Creek and Mount Stuart, 15 kilometres west of Milton in the Otago region of the South Island. It stands at an altitude of 434 metres (1,424 ft) atop the promontory which gives it its name.
Bendigo is a settlement and historic area in Central Otago, in the southern South Island of New Zealand. It is located some 20 kilometres to the north of Cromwell, to the east of the head of Lake Dunstan, on the banks of the Bendigo Creek, a small tributary of the Clutha River.
The small settlement of Caberfeidh is located in The Catlins, in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. The site of a former railway station on the Catlins Branch Line, it is sited close to a tributary of the Maclennan River, 5 kilometres north of the coast at Tahakopa Bay and 12 kilometres southwest of Owaka.
Waiwera South is a small settlement in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the boundary between the Otago and Southland regions. The settlement is located between Balclutha and Clinton, immediately to the south of State Highway 1, between branches of the Waiwera River and Kaihiku Stream, two minor tributaries of the Clutha River. The South Island Main Trunk railway also runs through the township. The settlement's population is around 100.
Manuka Creek is a locality in Otago, New Zealand, on the banks of the Manuka Stream, a tributary of the Tokomairiro River. It is located a short distance to the east of State Highway 8. The Manuka Railway Station on the Roxburgh Branch line was located by it. Herbert Deveril and Albert Percy Godber photographed the railway station. The creek was once a busy site for gold mining.
Moneymore is a small farming community in South Otago, New Zealand. It is located 5 kilometres to the southwest of Milton, to the south of SH 1.
Mount Somers / Te Kiekie is a mountain in the South Island of New Zealand, located in the foothills of the Southern Alps. At 1,688 metres (5,538 ft), it is prominently visible from the Canterbury Plains. The area around the mountain offers opportunities for day walks and overnight tramping.