Raes Junction is a small settlement in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, located at the intersection of State Highways 8 and 90, in the lower South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

. The highways which meet at the junction are the main routes to the Clutha

Clutha River

The Clutha River / Mata-Au is the second longest river in New Zealand flowing south-southeast through Central and South Otago from Lake Wanaka in the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean, south west of Dunedin. It is the highest volume river in New Zealand, and the swiftest, with a catchment of ,...

 valley for travellers from Dunedin

Dunedin

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...

 and Invercargill

Invercargill

Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...

 respectively.

Raes Junction is 62 kilometres by road from Milton

Milton, New Zealand

Milton is a town of 2,000 people, located on State Highway 1, 50 kilometres to the south of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand. It lies on the floodplain of the Tokomairiro River, one branch of which loops past the north and south ends of the town...

, 67 from Gore

Gore, New Zealand

Gore is a town, surrounding borough, and district in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand.-Geography:The Gore District has a land area of 1,251.62 km² and a resident population of...

, and 72 km from Alexandra

Alexandra, New Zealand

Alexandra is a town in the Central Otago district of the Otago region of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Clutha River , on State Highway 8, 188 km by road from Dunedin and 33 km south of Cromwell.At the time of the 2006 census, the permanent population was 4,827, an...

. The junction lies three kilometres to the south of the Clutha River. The nearest town of any significant size is Lawrence

Lawrence, New Zealand

Lawrence is a small town of 474 inhabitants in Otago, in New Zealand's South Island. It is located on State Highway 8, the main route from Dunedin to the inland towns of Queenstown and Alexandra...

, which is 25 kilometres to the southeast.

Although the settlement itself is little more than a farming and horticultural community, its location at this mid-way junction is thus of considerable regional importance, as is the larger settlement of Beaumont

Beaumont, New Zealand

Beaumont is a small town in inland Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on the Clutha River six kilometres southeast of Raes Junction, between Roxburgh and Balclutha...

, some six kilometres to the southeast. The settlement consists of a mere five families, who occupy four local farms and the settlement's most well-known feature, the Raes Junction Hotel.