The Southern Alps are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern Alps" generally refers to the entire range, although separate names are given to many of the smaller ranges that form part of it.
Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and create clouds and, under the right conditions, precipitation.
Middlemarch is a small town in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It lies at the foot of the Rock and Pillar Range of hills in the broad Strath-Taieri valley, through which flows the middle reaches of the Taieri River. Since local government reorganisation in the late 1980s, Middlemarch and much of the Strath-Taieri has been administered as part of Dunedin city, the centre of which lies some 80 km to the southeast. Middlemarch is part of the Taieri electorate, and is currently represented in parliament by Ingrid Leary. Middlemarch has reticulated sewerage but no reticulated water supply. A description of 1903, that "[T]he summer seasons are warm, but not enervating, and the winters cold, but dry" is still true today.
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The city has a rich Māori, Scottish, and Chinese heritage.
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.
Dunedin Railways is the trading name of Dunedin Railways Limited, an operator of a railway line and tourist trains based at Dunedin Railway Station in the South Island of New Zealand. The company is a council-controlled trading organisation wholly owned by Dunedin City Council through its holding company Dunedin City Holdings Limited.
The Strath Taieri is a large glacial valley and river plateau in New Zealand's South Island. It is surrounded by the rugged hill ranges to the north and west of Otago Harbour. Since 1989 it has been part of the city of Dunedin. The small town of Middlemarch is located at its southern end.
The Otago Central Rail Trail is a 150-kilometre walking, cycling and horse riding track in the South Island of New Zealand. A pioneering project for New Zealand, the successful rail trail joined the New Zealand Cycle Trail umbrella organisation in 2012, having been one of the inspirations for it.
The nor'west arch is a band of high white lenticular cloud that forms on the eastern side of New Zealand's South Island and which looks like an arch in an otherwise clear blue sky over the Southern Alps. It is accompanied by a strong hot northwesterly or northerly wind known as a "nor'wester". In Canterbury, where it is a well known feature, it is also called the Canterbury arch. It also occurs in Otago and Marlborough and east of mountain ranges along the east coast of the North Island.
Dunedin railway station is a prominent landmark and tourist site in Dunedin, a city in the South Island of New Zealand. It is speculated by locals to be the most photographed building in the country, as well as the second most photographed in the southern hemisphere, after the Sydney Opera House.
Paerau is a small settlement in inland Central Otago in New Zealand's South Island. It is located in the Strath Taieri, the upper valley of the Taieri River, at the foot of the Rock and Pillar Range. "Paerau" is a Māori-language name meaning "one hundred ridges".
The Rock and Pillar Range, is a range of high hills is located in the Maniototo, an area of inland Otago, New Zealand. The range is surrounded on three sides by the Taieri River, which has its source in the Lammerlaw Range. The river flows out across the scroll plain at Paerau, along the north west flanks of the Rock and Pillar Range before almost doubling back on itself at Waipiata and flowing back along the eastern side past Hyde through the Strath-Taieri. The town of Middlemarch lies close to the Taieri River to the east of the range, and Patearoa lies to the northwest.
The Otago Central Railway (OCR) or in later years Otago Central Branch Railway, now often referred to as the Taieri Gorge Railway, was a secondary railway line in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand.
Hyde is a locality in Otago, New Zealand, located in the Strath-Taieri. It is close to the northern end of the Rock and Pillar Range on State Highway 87 between Middlemarch and Ranfurly. Hyde is best known as the site of the Hyde railway disaster of 4 June 1943, in which 21 people were killed when an express train on the Otago Central Railway derailed at high speed in a cutting near the town. At the time, it was the worst railway accident in New Zealand's history; it has only been passed by the Tangiwai disaster of 24 December 1953, which claimed the lives of 151 people. The site of the Hyde disaster can now be walked as part of the Otago Central Rail Trail and a monument, a 2.5 m high cairn, stands as a memorial to the victims.
Styx Creek is a small to medium-sized natural stream in the Central Otago region of New Zealand. It flows into the Taieri River in the valley near Paerau, about 70 kilometres (43 mi) northwest of Dunedin.
Francis Stevens McAtamney was a New Zealand rugby union player. He was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, in 1956 and 1957, playing in the prop position.
The Lammermoor Range is a range of rugged hills in Central Otago, in southern New Zealand.
Sutton Salt Lake in Otago, is New Zealand's only inland salt water lake.
Hindon is a small settlement in inland Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located 24 kilometres (15 mi) northwest of Dunedin in the Silverpeaks Range, close to the edge of the Strath Taieri. The Taieri Gorge Railway runs through Hindon on its way between Dunedin and Middlemarch.
Dunstan Trail, also known as Old Dunstan Road, is a historic route in Otago, New Zealand. The road was created during the Central Otago gold rush of the 1860s.
