State Highway 70 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Route information | ||||
Maintained by Kaikoura District Council Hurunui District Council | ||||
Tourist routes | Alpine Pacific Triangle | |||
Major junctions | ||||
North end | ||||
South end | ||||
Location | ||||
Primary destinations | Mt Lyford, Waiau, Rotherham | |||
Highway system | ||||
|
The Inland Kaikoura Road, formerly designated State Highway 70, is a provincial highway in the South Island of New Zealand that runs from just south of Kaikoura to just north of Culverden via Waiau and Rotherham. White shields are used to signify this highway. It forms part of the Alpine Pacific Triangle tourist route. It also serves as an alternative inland route in cases where SH 1 is closed near the South Kaikoura Coast. Following the 14 November 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, all roads into Kaikoura were closed including Route 70; it was the first road connection to Kaikoura to reopen in mid-December.
The highway lost its state highway status because of the lack of traffic using it. [1] In 1991 the section from Waiau to Kaikoura was revoked. Before revocation approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) of highway was unsealed; however this was later sealed by the two district councils which maintained it. The remainder of SH 70 was revoked in 2004. Because of its scenic qualities it is now noted as one of the must drive roads in New Zealand. The road in parts is narrow, unsealed and winds through steep hill country. [2]
The road was closed following the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake and was for a few days open to the military only; the first army convoy reached Kaikoura on Friday, 18 November 2016, and this was the only land route into Kaikoura since SH 1 was cut off by the earthquake. [3] Some time later, registered convoys were allowed. Unrestricted access was restored on 19 December 2016, giving the public road access to Kaikoura again. [4]
The highway runs inland on the Inland Kaikoura Road from SH 1 just south of Kaikoura. It then turns south west running almost parallel to SH 1 in an adjacent valley. Passing over the Conway River the road becomes the Inland Road. It continues south, passing the intersection with Mt Lyford Forrest Drive and going through the small townships of Waiau and Rotherham, before ending at the junction of Rotherham Point Road and SH 7's Mouse Point Road just north of Culverden.
Territorial authority | Location | km | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kaikoura District | Kaikoura | 0 | Highway 70 begins | ||
16 | Linton Creek | ||||
19 | Kahutara River | ||||
24 | Green Burn | ||||
Hurunui District | 30 | Charwell River | |||
Conway River | |||||
Lyford | 55 | Mason River | |||
(Mount Lyford Forest Drive) – Mount Lyford Village | |||||
67 | Wandle River | ||||
72 | Lottery River | ||||
75 | Mason River | ||||
Waiau | 19 (78) | (Lyndon Street) – Cheviot, Kaikoura via Leader Road ( | |||
18 (79) | Waiau River | ||||
(Beavers Road) (Flintoft Mouse Point Road) – Hanmer Springs, West Coast via Lewis Pass ( | |||||
Culverden | 0 (97) | Highway 70 ends | |||
The New Zealand state highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Nearly 100 roads in the North and South Islands are state highways. All state highways are administered by the NZ Transport Agency.
State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand road network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the South Island.
The Waiau Branch was a branch line railway in the northern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Known as the Great Northern Railway for its first few decades of life, the Waiau Branch was seen as part of a main line north but was ultimately superseded by a coastal route. Opened in stages from 1882 to 1919, the line closed in 1978 but a portion has been retained as the Weka Pass Railway.
Medbury is a rural locality in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located just off State Highway 7 near the Hurunui River. There is no longer a significant population base forming a township, just rural properties.
Culverden is a small town in the northern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. In the 2013 New Zealand census, the town had a usually resident population of 426.
Rotherham is a small village in the Hurunui District of the Canterbury region in New Zealand's South Island. It is between Culverden and Waiau on the Inland Kaikoura Road, and is near the south bank of the Waiau River, a popular location for trout and salmon fishing. It has a population of 324.
The Main North Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north from Christchurch in New Zealand up the east coast of the South Island through Kaikoura and Blenheim to Picton. It is a major link in New Zealand's national rail network and offers a connection with roll-on roll-off ferries from Picton to Wellington. It was also the longest railway construction project in New Zealand's history, with the first stages built in the 1870s and not completed until 1945.
State Highway 7 is a major New Zealand state highway. One of the eight national highways, it crosses the Southern Alps to link the West Coast Region with Canterbury and to form a link between the South Island's two longest highways, State Highway 1 and State Highway 6. Distances are measured from east to west with the major junction list going from east to west.
State Highway 5, one of New Zealand's eight national highways, runs from State Highway 1 at Tirau, in the south Waikato, to State Highway 2, close to the Hawke Bay coast at Bay View, 10 km north of Napier. It is the second shortest of the national highways.
State Highway 2 runs north–south through eastern parts of the North Island of New Zealand from the outskirts of Auckland to Wellington. It runs via Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, and Napier and Hastings in Hawke's Bay. It is the second-longest highway in the North Island, after State Highway 1, which runs the length of both of the country's main islands.
State Highway 38 is a road in the North Island of New Zealand that starts from SH 5 near Waiotapu, and ends at Wairoa, where it connects to SH 2. It is the shortest connection from the central North Island (Rotorua) to the East Coast (Gisborne), but it is not often used as such. Large parts of the road are narrow and winding, and about 74 kilometres (46 mi) is unsealed. Travel on this highway takes roughly four hours.
New Zealand State Highway 43, also called the Forgotten World Highway, is a road that runs 148 km from Stratford in Taranaki to Taumarunui in the King Country. It contains the only unsealed portion of the New Zealand state highway network.
State Highway 60 is a state highway servicing the far northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. Running between the settlements of Richmond and Collingwood, it is 116 kilometres (72 mi) long and lies entirely within the Tasman District. It is the northernmost highway in the South Island and is a popular tourist route, servicing Motueka, Abel Tasman National Park, Golden Bay, and Farewell Spit.
State Highway 22 (SH 22) is a New Zealand state highway just south of Auckland. It connects the town of Pukekohe to the Auckland Southern Motorway.
State Highway 39 (SH 39) is a New Zealand state highway that forms a western bypass of the city of Hamilton. Gazetted in 1999, it is a generally quicker route to get between Auckland and New Plymouth as well as connecting to the Waitomo Caves, just south of the SH 39 southern terminus. The southernmost 14 km section has a concurrency with SH 31, as this highway has existed for much longer.
State Highway 15 (SH 15) is a New Zealand state highway in the Northland region of the North Island. It is 126.5 km long and provides an alternative route to SH 1 between the Kaikohe and Whangarei areas; a spur also links SH 1 with the Marsden Point Oil Refinery and Northport.
The 2016 Kaikoura earthquake was a magnitude 7.8 (Mw) earthquake in the South Island of New Zealand that occurred two minutes after midnight on 14 November 2016 NZDT. Ruptures occurred on multiple faults and the earthquake has been described as the "most complex earthquake ever studied".
Springs Junction is a significant road junction in New Zealand that connects two major highways, State Highway 7 and State Highway 65.
Rainbow Road is an unsealed back-country road in New Zealand. It runs for 112 kilometres (70 mi) from Hanmer Springs in Canterbury to Saint Arnaud in the Nelson Region, but for much of its length it is located in the Marlborough Region. The official name of the road is Rainbow Valley–Hanmer Road.
State Highway 51 is a New Zealand state highway that runs between Napier and Hastings via Clive. Known locally as the Coastal Route, it was the main route between the two cities prior to the completion of the Hawke's Bay Expressway.