SH8 (New Zealand)

The SH8 forms a lengthy loop through the mountains to the west of SH1 on New Zealands South Island. It starts on SH1 at Washdyke just to the north of the coastal town of Timaru, and heads north west at first to Pleasant Point, where it meets the Tengawai River. It then follows the river upstream, climbing steadily before it crosses the watershed and dips a little to meet SH79 at Fairlie. Here it turns north west once more and follows the Opihi River upstream. From here to the junction with SH 80 to Aoraki (Mount Cook), SH 8 also carries the designation of the'Starlight Highway', a name which was gained in October 2017. As the road heads out of the village, it passes a sizeable llama & alpaca farm, before returning to a landscape of more conventional farmland. However, soon after crossing the river, the landscape changes as the hills close in, and the slopes become moorland.

The small village of Burkes Pass is reached, as the road turns west, still climbing past 700m. There are odd patches of moorland fields, but these disappear as the road gains height, and in winter this can be an arctic landscape of vast blankets of snow surrounded by distant snow-capped peaks. It is no surprise that there are Ski centres in the area, and soon the resort of Tekapo is reached at the foot of Lake Tekapo. The road crosses the dam over the river, which holds back the lake water, most of which is in turn glacial meltwater from the Mountains beyond.

Climbing a little further, the road reaches a summit of nearly 800m before it starts to descend, heading south now to Lake Pukaki. Here, again, the road crosses the dam, or in this case the two dams holding back the lake water, and beyond the second SH80 turns north for the mountain resort of Mount Cook. A little further south, the road passes the small town of Twizel and then crosses over the outflow from Lake Ruataniwha, before dropping down into the valley of the Aruhiri River. Across the river, SH83 is met at Omarama, and then the road follows the river upstream for a while, before the gradient increases as it climbs into the mountains.

This is the Lindis Pass, a spectacular climb to over 950m, with some stunning views of the moorland clad peaks climbing up from the roadside. There are some tight bends and steep climbs, but never as severe as on some other Highways. Laybys and viewpoints are well-provided across the summit, and then the road drops away into the narrow valley of the Lindis River. The river carries the road a long way down hill, and despite a short sharp climb over Cluden Hill to short-cut a meander, the road is soon back in farmland, at the small village of Tarras.

From Tarras, SH8A the first of two spurs connecting to SH6 turns right. This is the longer of the two, and crosses the valley floor to the Clutha River. The road stays on the north bank of the river as it winds westwards, then drops down to cross the river and meet SH6 just west of Luggate. The second spur, SH8B, is found several kilometres to the south in the town of Cromwell, and is much shorter, just passing through the town centre to connect the two routes. Between the two spurs, SH6 and SH8 run more or less parallel to each other, either side of Lake Dunstan.

SH8 doesn't enter Cromwell, the town lying entirely to the west of the Clutha River, and reached via the bridge on SH8B. instead, it stays on the east bank and follows the wide blue-green river downstream through the Cromwell Gorge as it meanders south east to Clyde. Just before reaching this small town, the road passes the Clyde Dam, which appears to hold back the waters of Lake Dunstan so many kilometres behind, and explains the huge width of the river through the partially flooded gorge. Having dropped so far out of the mountains, you would be forgiven for thinking that it is all downhill now, but it isn't. After the next town of Alexandria, the river turns south through a narrow defile, and the roadbuilders of old wisely chose to take the road through the hills to the west.

There is a long, steady climb out of Alexandra, and then the road runs south across moorland dotted with patchy fields. There are a few dips across side streams and gullys, before the short steep drop back down to the banks of the Clutha River at Lake Roxburgh Village. There is yet more Scottish influence in the place names as we follow the river south, through Roxburgh, Dumbarton and Etterick, with Teviot on the opposite bank. Beyond Etterick, what was a wide valley floor closes in and the road is penned between the river and a steep bank, but it doesn't last long.

The road then turns away from the river for a while, climbing slightly to reach the next valley and SH90 at Raes Junction. Then, at Beaumont, the river is crossed and the character of the landscape starts to change. As the road turns to the south east, it enters an area of low, undulating hills, with the road following a series of shallow valleys through scattered farms and villages. The small town of Lawrence is the largest settlement on this section of the route, which mostly passes through a lush green landscape of pasture and hill fields.

The sinuous, meandering nature of the road carries us through to one final summit, after which there is a long descent to Glenore. Soon after this tiny, scattered settlement, the road emerges onto the coastal plain, and straightens up for the last few kilometres to rejoin SH1 just south of Milton.

https://twitter.com/AstronzNZ/status/918726507505229824