Southern Scenic Route

The Southern Scenic Route is a tourist road in the south of the South Island of New Zealand. The about 610 -kilometer route linking Queenstown with the Fiordland Te Anau and Manapouri and over Riverton with Invercargill and Bluff. From there it passes through the Catlins after Balclutha and Dunedin.

Route

The Southern Scenic Route follows a U-shaped route.

From Queenstown it via State Highway 6, and from Mossburn State Highway 94 to Te Anau. Although the Milford Sound is not an official part of the track, a trip to the sound, starting from Te Anau recommended (see detour ).

From Te Anau it follows the eastern boundary of the Fiordland National Park by Manapouri and Tuatapere. At the Te Waewae Bay it reaches the coast and turns to the southeast by Orepuki, Colac Bay and Riverton.

In Lorneville the road to State Highway 6 is reached again and follows him through the city of Invercargill. About the State Highway 1 may be reached via a detour Bluff. From Bluff, after recommendation from the information brochure Stewart Iceland be achieved as an extended target of the route ( see also detour ).

From Invercargill, the road turns east through Fortrose in the Catlins, Owaka then after Balclutha. The next rugged coast with its poor roads to Kaitangata is bypassed, the Southern Scenic route follows here the course of State Highway 1 to Milton and Lake Waihola.

In Waihola the route leaves the highway again and rises through the Otago Coast Forest on; it reaches at Taieri Mouth again the coast. From here the road follows the minor road through Green Iceland and Brighton. It ends at Caversham in SH1.

History and Development

The concept of the Southern Scenic Route and the name emerged in November 1985 at an informal meeting in Tuatapere and were confirmed at a public meeting in January 1986. The sponsors of the project then negotiated with the tourist and road authorities and local government.

Since it was the first project of its kind in New Zealand, the approval process made ​​slow progress. The Southern Scenic Route was officially opened on 6 November 1988, then led by Te Anau to Balclutha. The line was extended to Dunedin in 1998.

In early 2007 came up with the idea to extend the distance over Dunedin addition by Waikati. In November 2007, the City Council Dunedin confirmed that he is negotiating with the District Council of the Waitaki District via an extension to Oamaru. By the end of 2010, these ideas were not implemented.

The road is maintained in their individual sections of the New Zealand Transport Agency, the Southland District, the Clutha District and the cities of Invercargill and Dunedin.

The route itself uses continuous paved roads; many of the sights, which are connected by the Southern Scenic Route, but are not directly on the street and are accessible only by dirt roads and trails.

The magazine Travel Leisure described the route in 2008 as " one of the greatest undiscovered routes in the world ."

Stages and stations

The information brochure for the route via 80 stations on 7 stages, which include both natural attractions, as well as buildings, hiking, historic sites or places to observe wildlife.

Stage 2 - Fiordland, Te Anau Manapouri and

Stage 3 - Western Southland

Stage 4 - Invercargill and Bluff

Stage 5 - The Catlins

Stage 6 - Balclutha

Stage 7 - Dunedin and Otago Peninsula

Queenstown and Wakatipu

Starting in Queenstown, the route leads through Kingston and Mossburn Five Rivers after. In this section, especially hiking opportunities are listed as stations.

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Fiordland, Te Anau Manapouri and

Coming from Mossburn the route describes an arc on Te Anau to Manapouri, representing both places the entry points for the New Zealand Fiordland National Park. In this area, hiking trails, and beaches and a view point are listed as stations. From Te Anau from a trip to Milford Sound is recommended, but not part of the route (see also detour ).

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Western Southland

This section is located between Manapouri and Riverton and offers hiking trails, viewpoints, natural attractions and historical places as stations of the Southern Scenic route.

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Invercargill and Bluff

The Southern Scenic Route connects to this section Riverton Invercargill, leads a trip to Bluff and then continues from Invercargill on the Gorge Road - Invercargill Highway towards Balclutha continued. In addition to attractions in and around Invercargill and Bluff, also a trip to Stewart Iceland is recommended (see also detour ).

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The Catlins

A longer section of the route runs along the coast through the Catlins after Balclutha. In this section, especially waterfalls, beaches and coves characterize the stations on the route.

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Balclutha

The route follows in this section of the coast coming over Balclutha on to Milton, and from there the coastal road taking to Dunedin. Historical Sehenswürdigekeiten, special points in nature, as well as hiking opportunities can be found on this section.

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Dunedin and Otago Peninsula

The end of the Southern Scenic Route is located in Dunedin. Here are key sights are in and around Dunedin, as well as on the nearby Otago Peninsula through the route.

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Detour

About the Milford Road ( State Highway 94) of the Fiordland National Park can be passed through to Milford Sound. This track is not numbered station of the Southern Scenic Route, but is shown as recommended in the official brochure. The same applies to the Rakiura National Park on Stewart Iceland, the third largest island of New Zealand, which can be achieved by ferry from Bluff.

Mitre Peak at Milford Sound

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