🇳🇿Roads in New Zealand
4 roads found in New Zealand, Oceania
Crown Range Road
🇳🇿 New Zealand
The Crown Range Road is New Zealand's highest sealed (paved) road, climbing to 1,076 meters as it connects Queenstown to Wanaka across the Crown Range in the South Island's Central Otago region. The 67-kilometer route is the most direct road between these two popular resort towns and offers a far more dramatic alternative to the longer highway route via Cromwell. The road climbs steeply from the Kawarau Gorge through a series of tight switchbacks with spectacular views back over the Wakatipu Basin and the Remarkables mountain range. At the summit, a short walk leads to a lookout with 360-degree views encompassing Lake Wakatipu, Lake Wanaka, and the surrounding peaks. The descent into the Cardrona Valley passes the iconic Cardrona Hotel (built in 1863) and the Cardrona ski field. In winter, the summit can be snowbound and chains may be required, adding an extra dimension of adventure to the crossing.
Forgotten World Highway
🇳🇿 New Zealand
The Forgotten World Highway (State Highway 43) is a 150-kilometer road connecting Stratford in Taranaki to Taumarunui in the King Country region of New Zealand's North Island. The road winds through some of the most remote and sparsely populated countryside in the country, passing through a landscape that seems frozen in time with abandoned settlements, historic tunnels, and dense native bush. The highway traverses the Tangarakau Gorge, a deep forested valley so remote that it was one of the last areas of the North Island to be mapped. The road passes through the Moki Tunnel, a hand-hewn passage through solid rock, and over saddle points with views of Mount Taranaki's perfect volcanic cone. The tiny settlement of Whangamomona, population roughly 30, famously declared itself an independent republic in 1989 and continues to issue its own passports. The highway is the only road in New Zealand that passes through a genuine ghost town: the abandoned coal mining village of Tangarakau.
Milford Road
🇳🇿 New Zealand
The Milford Road (State Highway 94) is a 119-kilometer mountain road in New Zealand's South Island, connecting Te Anau with Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park. The route passes through some of the most pristine wilderness in New Zealand, traversing ancient beech forests, alongside mirror-still lakes, through the dramatic Homer Tunnel, and into the sheer-walled Cleddau Valley. Milford Sound itself, described by Rudyard Kipling as the "eighth wonder of the world," awaits at the road's end. The Homer Tunnel is the road's most remarkable feature - a 1.2-kilometer-long, single-lane tunnel carved through solid granite over twenty years (1935-1954) using manual labor and minimal machinery. The tunnel descends at a 1-in-10 gradient from the eastern portal to the western side, where it emerges into the dramatic Cleddau Valley. Traffic through the tunnel is controlled by traffic lights, with vehicles traveling in alternating directions. The descent from the tunnel through the Cleddau Valley, with sheer rock walls and cascading waterfalls on both sides, is one of the most awe-inspiring stretches of road in the Southern Hemisphere. The road passes several notable stops, including Mirror Lakes, where perfectly still tarns reflect the surrounding mountains; the Avenue of the Disappearing Mountain, an optical illusion where the mountain ahead appears to shrink as you approach; and the Chasm, where the Cleddau River has carved spectacular rock formations. Avalanche risk closes the road periodically in winter, and heavy rainfall can cause temporary closures at any time of year. Fiordland receives an average of 6,813 millimeters of rain annually, creating hundreds of temporary waterfalls that cascade down the cliff faces after storms.
Skippers Canyon Road
🇳🇿 New Zealand
Skippers Canyon Road is a notoriously dangerous 22-kilometer gravel road carved into the sheer cliff faces of Skippers Canyon near Queenstown, New Zealand. The road was hand-built by gold miners in the 1860s and has remained largely unchanged since, with no guardrails, a surface of loose gravel, and sections barely wide enough for a single vehicle. Rental car insurance is voided on this road, making it one of the few roads in the world where mainstream rental companies explicitly refuse coverage. The road descends from Coronet Peak Road into the deep Shotover River gorge, passing through narrow rock cuttings where the cliff drops away hundreds of meters to the river below. In several sections, the road is carved into a narrow shelf on the cliff face, with barely enough room for a single vehicle and nowhere to pull over if another vehicle approaches from the opposite direction. The original stone retaining walls built by Chinese gold miners in the 1860s are still visible, and the road surface varies from compacted gravel to loose stones and mud. Skippers Canyon was one of the richest gold-mining areas in New Zealand during the 1860s gold rush, and the remains of mining operations, stone cottages, and the historic Skippers suspension bridge (1901) can still be seen along the route. The canyon itself is spectacular, with steep schist rock walls plunging to the turquoise Shotover River. Today, the area is popular for jet boating, bungy jumping, and white-water rafting. Guided 4WD tours are the recommended way to experience the road, as local operators know the conditions and can navigate the tight sections safely.