State Highway 85 (SH 85) is a

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in New Zealand, servicing the Maniototo Plains and the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

Central Otago Central Otago is located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference". The area is dominated by mountain ranges and the upper reaches of the Clutha River and tributa ...

regions of the South Island between the major settlements of

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

and

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...

. It is wholly two lane and passes through some of the most extreme climatic regions in New Zealand. The highway is known colloquially as "The Pigroot". Though there is no definitive explanation for this name, A. W. Reed, in his book ''Place Names of New Zealand'', mentions an incident during

John Turnbull Thomson John Turnbull Thomson (10 August 1821 – 16 October 1884) was a British civil engineer and artist who played an instrumental role in the development of the early infrastructure of nineteenth-century Singapore and New Zealand. He lived the last 2 ...

's survey of inland Otago in which local wild pigs were so unafraid of humans that a huge boar approached his party and rubbed its nose against that of Thomson's horse.Reed, A.W. (1975) ''Place names of New Zealand.'' Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed. p. 328

Route

SH 85 leaves Alexandra town centre and runs in a northerly direction parallel (but not directly next to) with the

Manuherikia River The Manuherikia River is located in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. It rises in the far north of the Maniototo, with the West Branch draining the eastern side of the St Bathans Range, and the East Branch draining the western flanks of t ...

. After passing through

Chatto Creek Chatto may refer to: * Chatto (surname) * Chatto & Windus, a UK book publisher based in London * Pickering & Chatto Publishers, based in London * Beth Chatto Gardens, in Essex, UK See also

* Chato (disambiguation) * Catto (disambiguation) * Ch ...

Omakau Omakau is a settlement in Central Otago, New Zealand, located between Alexandra and Ranfurly on the northwest bank of the Manuherikia River. The smaller settlement of Ophir, New Zealand is located on the opposite bank, three kilometres to the so ...

Lauder The former Royal Burgh of Lauder (, gd, Labhdar) is a town in the Scottish Borders in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Berwickshire. On the Southern Upland Way, the burgh lies southeast of Edinburgh, on the western edge of the Lamme ...

and Becks, the road crosses the river and ascends onto the high plateau known as the Maniototo Plains. The road then veers to the southeast and runs across the plains through Idaburn and Wedderburn before the road "detours" to go to Ranfurly. After Ranfurly, the road resumes its original direction and after

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") a ...

, the road descends through the

Kakanui Range The Kakanui Range is a range of high hills located inland from Oamaru in the South Island of New Zealand. The range forms a boundary between the valley of the Waitaki River to the north and the high plateau known as the Maniototo and the upper wa ...

s as well as through

Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headqua ...

and

Dunback Dunback, formerly Waihemo, is a small town in the Otago region of New Zealand. It is located between Palmerston and Ranfurly on Highway 85. It has a population of about 200 people. Most of these people live in the rural areas near the town. ...

and the

Inch Valley Inch Valley is a lightly populated rural locality in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is northwest of Palmerston and Glenpark, east of Stoneburn, on the banks of the Shag River. Economic activity around Inch Valley is agri ...

to emerge at

References

External links

New Zealand Transport Agency
85 Transport in Otago {{NewZealand-road-stub