New Zealand State Highway 79

State Highway 79
Route information
Maintained by New Zealand Transport Agency
Length:	61.0 km (37.9 mi)
Major junctions
East end:	Orari-Rangitata Highway at Rangitata
West end:	Main Street/Mount Cook Road at Fairlie
Location
Primary destinations:	Geraldine
Highway system
New Zealand state highways Motorways and expressways List Unused ← SH 78 SH 80 →

State Highway 79 (SH 79) is a New Zealand State Highway connecting the South Canterbury communities of Rangitata, Geraldine, and Fairlie. Starting at State Highway 1 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 (), formerly State Highway 72. The road is a two-lane single carriageway, with a one-lane bridge crossing the Orari River.

It is an important tourist highway, and forms part of the most direct route between Christchurch and the Mackenzie Country, Aoraki / Mount Cook and Queenstown/Wanaka.

Route

SH 79 passing through Geraldine

The highway starts on the Canterbury Plains 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.^[1]

Major intersections

Territorial authority	Location	km	jct	Destinations	Notes
Timaru District	Rangitata	0		SH 1 north – Ashburton, Christchurch SH 1 south – Temuka, Timaru	SH 79 begins
		9		Inland Scenic Route (Geraldine-Arundel Road) – Methven, Mount Hutt Ski Area	SH 79/Inland Scenic Route (Regional Route 72) concurrency begins
				Orari River
	Geraldine	15		Inland Scenic Route (Talbot Street) – Winchester, Timaru	SH 79/Inland Scenic Route (Regional Route 72) concurrency ends
Mackenzie District	Fairlie	61		SH 8 east – Timaru SH 8 west – Tekapo, Aoraki/Mount Cook	SH 79 ends

See also

• List of New Zealand State Highways

References

External links

• New Zealand Transport Agency

New Zealand state highways
List of New Zealand state highways List of unused highways in New Zealand List of motorways and expressways in New Zealand
National	SH 1 (incl. SH 1B, SH 1D) SH 2 (incl. SH 2B) SH 3 (incl. SH 3A) SH 4 SH 5 SH 6 (incl. SH 6A) SH 7 (incl. SH 7A) SH 8 (incl. SH 8A, SH 8B)
North Island	SH 10 SH 11 SH 12 SH 14 SH 15 SH 16 SH 18 SH 20 (incl. SH 20A, SH 20B) SH 21 SH 22 SH 23 SH 24 SH 25 (incl. SH 25A) SH 26 SH 27 SH 28 SH 29 (incl. SH 29A) SH 30 (incl. SH 30A) SH 31 SH 32 SH 33 SH 34 SH 35 SH 36 SH 37 SH 38 SH 39 SH 41 SH 43 SH 44 SH 45 SH 46 SH 47 SH 48 SH 49 SH 50 (incl. SH 50A) SH 53 SH 54 SH 56 SH 57 SH 58
South Island	SH 60 SH 62 SH 63 SH 65 SH 67 (incl. SH 67A) SH 69 SH 71 SH 73 SH 74 (incl. SH 74A) SH 75 SH 76 SH 77 SH 78 SH 79 SH 80 SH 82 SH 83 SH 84 SH 85 SH 86 SH 87 SH 88 SH 90 SH 93 SH 94 SH 95 SH 96 SH 97 SH 98 SH 99
Former state highways	SH 1A SH 2A SH 15 SH 15A SH 17 SH 36 SH 40 SH 47A SH 49A SH 52 SH 57A SH 61 SH 70 SH 72 SH 73A SH 89 SH 91 SH 92
Touring routes	Twin Coast Discovery Highway Thermal Explorer Highway Pacific Coast Highway Classic New Zealand Wine Trail Alpine Pacific Triangle Great Alpine Highway Foothills Scenic Route Inland Scenic Route Southern Scenic Route