Otira Gorge
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Altitude change 500 m in 15 km.  Here we find some new problems solving sections along New Zealand’s most difficult main road.  Snow, ice, river erosion, rock slides, earthquakes and rain all contribute to many closures of this section each year.  Arthur Dobson used ropes to descend from the east in 1864.  Notice the changes in vegetation with the altitude changes, old sections of road and the huge rocks moved by the fast-eroding Otira River.

Otira Settlement
Pop. 146.  Altitude 377 m   (Meaning - “out of the sun” or “food for a journey".)  Rainfall 6,000 mm (234 in) - from the prevailing westerly winds that drop their moisture to ascend the alpine barrier. The town was to house staff of the massive sub-alpine tunnel and rail system. 

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