The Kakanui Range is a range of high hills located inland from

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the rai ...

in the South Island of

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 ...

. The range forms a boundary between the valley of the

Waitaki River The Waitaki River is a large braided river that drains the Mackenzie Basin and runs some south-east to enter the Pacific Ocean between Timaru and Oamaru on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It starts at the confluence of the � ...

to the north and the high plateau known as the

Maniototo The Maniototo Plain, usually simply known as The Maniototo, is an elevated inland region in Otago, New Zealand. The region roughly surrounds the upper reaches of the Taieri River and the Manuherikia River. It is bounded by the Kakanui Range t ...

and the upper watershed of the

Taieri River 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 sou ...

to the southwest. The highest point in the Kakanui Range is Mount Pisgah, at 1643 m (5394 ft). The Kakanui Range is crossed by road at Danseys Pass, which has a saddle at 935 m (3070 ft). The southwestern slopes of the Kakanui Range were a major goldfield during the

Central Otago goldrush The Otago Gold Rush (often called the Central Otago Gold Rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – ...

of the 1860s. Relics from this goldrush can be found at

Kyeburn Kyeburn is a small settlement in Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Maniototo, a wide, high plain stretching from the end of the Strath-Taieri valley. Kyeburn stands at the junction of State Highways 85 ("The Pigroot") ...

and

Naseby Naseby is a village in West Northamptonshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 687. The village is 14 mi (22.5 km) north of Northampton, 13.3 mi (21.4 km) northeast of Daventry, and 7&nb ...

. The Kakanuis continue as the Horse Range to the Pacific at

Shag Point Shag Point / Matakaea is a headland and township in East Otago, New Zealand. It is located close to State Highway 1 nine kilometres to the northeast of Palmerston, at the southern end of a long open bay known as Katiki Beach. The point itsel ...

Mount Pisgah

The highest point in the Kakanui Range is Mount Pisgah, at .

References

Mountain ranges of Otago {{Otago-geo-stub