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 "A world of difference"
Central Otago has been characterized by its own District Council as "A World of Difference" a phrase which was eagerly welcomed and is now widely adopted. The essence of this ‘world’ is provided by its uncommon landscape which was remarked upon by the earliest pioneers: 
“ a continuous …expanse of lofty hills – range succeeding range… clothed  in a sober livery of pale brown vegetation, relieved only by grim, grey rocks  of fantastic form, sharing the desolation to which they contributed – backed by distant mountain peaks, which bounded and encompassed the horizon in  every direction, piercing the blue ether, and clad in dazzling snows…where the profound stillness was painful in its prolonged intensity: and the only  sound that greeted the ear from dawn to dusk was the melancholy wailing of the wind among the tussocks” Vincent Pyke, 1887   
 
That these landscapes have remained virtually untouched and visually unpolluted may be attributed largely to their remoteness and the harsh climate and conditions which have shaped them. These qualities, together with the stories of privation, endurance and fortitude of the early settlers and prospectors who invaded their fastness, have been celebrated by a long procession of writers, poet, painters and photographers. Their work has contributed to the growth of a powerful landscape myth which, in turn, has been absorbed into the imagination of many New Zealanders who may never have actually visited Central Otago, and therefore adds significantly to a New Zealand sense of identity and place.
 
Central Otago ’s landscapes also embrace a romantic historical narrative which is illustrated today by the remnants of stone shepherds’ crofts, miners shelters and the scars created by their search for gold. The Old Dunstan Road remains one of New Zealand’s few surviving symbols of our early settler’s impulse to reach out from their coastal settlements, to explore the interior and pursue opportunities, security and affluence – a “yellow brick road” in the truest symbolic sense.

Save Central believes it is calling out to all New Zealander’s to require planners and consenting authorities to exercise great caution and consideration before they permit this World of Difference to be vandalized, perhaps irremediably scarred, for what are likely to be at best, short-term benefits when without question, other alternatives exist.