The Name

Otakou, a small village near the mouth of the Otago Harbour, was one of the first Maori settlements encountered by European sealers and whalers in the early 1800’s. Among southern Maori, the pronunciation of “k” and “g” are very similar, so Otakou became Otago. The name was progressively applied to the peninsula and harbour, then in 1848 to the European settlement, and finally to the whole province.

Where are we?

Otago straddles the 45° parallel. It is bounded to the west by the snowclad spine of the South Island, the Southern Alps, and to the east by the Pacific Ocean. Canterbury’s flat plains lie to the north and Southland is our neighbour below us.

Landscape

Otago is New Zealand’s third largest region and covers more than 10% of the country. It is geographically varied and only relatively small areas are flat. During just a two-hour drive from Dunedin's coastline you will encounter patchwork fields, rolling pastoral farmland, yawning river valleys, tussock upland and jagged mountains.

Hard against the Alps, Central Otago’s dramatic landscape was formed by a succession of epochal forces: massive tectonic upheaval, widespread glaciation and incisive riverine erosion. The result is a jumble of rippled mountain blocks, deep lakes, and icy rivers tumbling through rocky gorges. The largest river by volume in the country, the mighty Clutha, drains this entire area.

Wind and water have chiseled most of middle Otago from a sedimentary, marine plain millions of years ago to a random and often rugged hill-country. In it's midst are a couple of high plains: the Maniototo around Ranfurly, and the Strath Taieri around Middlemarch. They are in fact wide river valleys.

The most fertile and intensively farmed areas of the region are near the coast. The flood plain of the Taieri River, which is south of Dunedin, and Inch Clutha, the delta of the Clutha which is near Balclutha, are both deep in rich humus and silt built up over millennia.

In contrast, the broken coastal area around the main urban centre of the Dunedin City was shaped by now dormant volcanic activity. The remains of ancient volcanoes survive as symmetrical cones, hexagonal basalt rock formations and even the Otago Harbour itself.

Climate

Except in isolated mountain areas where annual rainfall is rarely above 1200mm, the rest of Otago is not wet. In fact the rain shadow created by the Alps makes Central Otago the driest part of New Zealand with less than 500mm per annum. That, and being the area furthest from the sea, creates a semi-arid, continental climate of very hot summers and cold winters. Temperatures above 30° C are common in summer. However, in winter snow and frost can occur between May and October. It’s shorts in summer, sweaters in winter, and sun-block all the time!

Temperatures become less extreme nearer the east coast because the sea has a moderating effect. With cool, dryish winters and warm summers, typical of coastal areas, Dunedin ranges from a minimum mid-winter average of 3° C to an average mid-summer maximum of 19° C.

Visit the New Zealand MetService website for more weather information .

Population

Otago's total population is 185,000 and 120,000 of them live in Dunedin which is the only city and main port. Other towns are Queenstown, Alexandra, Cromwell and Wanaka in Central Otago and the lakes District; Balclutha, Milton and Roxburgh in the Clutha area south of Dunedin; and Waikouaiti and Palmerston up the coast to the north.

What do we do?

Pastoral farming of sheep, cattle and deer is the main agricultural activity, but dairying has expanded recently.

Central Otago, originally opened up by sheep farmers and gold miners in the 1860’s, is now an international tourism Mecca and winter playground centred on Queenstown. Skiing, tramping, white-water rafting, bungy jumping and fishing are just some of the outdoor activities on offer.

Pip and stone fruit orchards have long been a feature here. Central’s cherries, apricots, apples and peaches are an export treasure. A more recently established and hugely successful vineyard and wine industry has added yet another exciting dimension, with Pinot Noir receiving accolades in international tastings after less than twenty years of production.

Forestry is another major industry centralized in Dunedin and Clutha, with over 2,000,000 cubic metres of logs, sawn timber and wood-chips produced in 2002.

Otago is also rich in energy. The Clutha River produces 752 megawatts of electricity from two hydro-electric dams and the province contains over a billion tonnes of coal reserves.