Danseys Pass is a mountain pass located in the Kakanui Mountains, between the northern Maniototo Plain in Central Otago, crossing over into North Otago and the Waitaki Valley near Duntroon. This classic alpine pass is unsealed, narrow in places and can be closed by snow during winter.br/br/Danseys Pass was once well used for#160;gold mining traffic. Races dug by Chinese miners into the hillsides scar the landscape and are a reminder of the intense hard work required to source water for inland and high country prospecting. The Pass is named after William Heywood Dansey, a run holder who was with three others on an expedition over the Pass into#160;Central Otago in 1855-56. These gentlemen are likely to have been the first Europeans to see the Maniototo Plains.