North Otago in the context of Herbert, New Zealand

The Canterbury Plains (Māori: Kā Pākihi-whakatekateka-a-Waitaha) are an area in New Zealand centred in the Mid Canterbury, to the south of the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury region. Their northern extremes are at the foot of the Hundalee Hills in the Hurunui District, and in the south they merge into the plains of North Otago beyond the Waitaki River. The smaller Amuri Plain forms a northern extension of the plains.

Oamaru, the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town of the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Timaru and 120 kilometres (75 mi) north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connect it to both cities. With a population of 14,300, Oamaru is the 28th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the third largest in Otago behind Dunedin and Queenstown. The town is the seat of Waitaki District, which includes the surrounding towns of Kurow, Weston, Palmerston, and Hampden, which combined have a population of 23,200.

Friendly Bay is a popular recreational area on the edge of Oamaru Harbour, south of Oamaru's main centre. Just to the north of Oamaru is the substantial Alliance abattoir at Pukeuri, at a major junction with State Highway 83, the main route into the Waitaki Valley. This highway provides a link to Kurow, Omarama, Otematata and via the Lindis Pass to Queenstown and Wānaka. Oamaru serves as the eastern gateway to the Mackenzie Basin, via the Waitaki Valley.

State Highway 85 (SH 85) is a South Island state highway in New Zealand, servicing the Maniototo Plains and the North and Central Otago regions of the South Island between the major settlements of Alexandra and Palmerston. 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". The name comes from the Pigroot Hotel, the only building in the town of Pigroot, where travellors stayed during the 1870s to 1880s. Officially named the "Halfway House", but colloquially known as the Pigroot Hotel, it was run by the proprietors John and Isabella Freeland. Today, the Pigroot Creek Bridge which runs over the Shag River is the only reminder of this town.