State Highway 79 (SH 79) is a New Zealand

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

connecting the

South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the S ...

communities of Rangitata, Geraldine, and Fairlie. Starting at

State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...

the highway is 61 kilometres in length and runs in a general east–west direction. 6.3 km of the highway through Geraldine runs concurrently with the

Inland Scenic Route The Inland Scenic Route is a touring route in Canterbury, New Zealand. In the north, the route starts in Amberley and in the south, it ends at Orari Bridge where it meets State Highway 79 (SH 79). It is on the New Zealand Automobile Asso ...

(

), formerly State Highway 72. The road is a two-lane single carriageway, with a one-lane bridge crossing the

Orari River The Orari River is a river of the south Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It rises to the northwest of the Four Peaks Range, initially flowing north then east to circumnavigate the range before flowing southeast across the Canter ...

. It is an important tourist highway, and forms part of the most direct route between

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

and the

Mackenzie Country The Mackenzie Basin (), popularly and traditionally known as the Mackenzie Country, is an elliptical intermontane basin located in the Mackenzie and Waitaki Districts, near the centre of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest su ...

Aoraki / Mount Cook Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, , is listed as . It is situated in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite ch ...

and Queenstown/

Wānaka Wānaka () is a popular ski and summer resort town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. At the southern end of Lake Wānaka, it is at the start of the Clutha River and is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park. Wānaka ...

Route

The highway starts on the

Canterbury Plains The Canterbury Plains () 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 ...

and proceeds in a north-westerly direction. The highway then intersects with the Inland Scenic Route and crosses the Orari River. The highway then veers to the south and arrives in Geraldine. In the town centre, SH 79 turns right and passes through the southern sections of the township before veering to the west towards the foothills. The road gradually passes through sections of pine forest and farmlands and is generally hilly and curvy in some spots before descending into the township of Fairlie.State Highway 79 on Google Maps
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Major intersections

References

External links

New Zealand Transport Agency
Geography of the Canterbury Region 79 Transport in the Canterbury Region {{NewZealand-road-stub

Route

Major intersections

See also

References

External links