Best driving route from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo New Zealand
Learn via which cities and towns you should drive and how long it takes to drive on the best driving route from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo in Canterbury on the South Island of New Zealand.
This driving route starts on Memorial Avenue immediately after you leave Christchurch airport. It is approximately 220 km (137 mi) from Christchurch airport to Tekapo.
Driving at about 80 to 100 km/h (50 to 62 mph) – the maximum speed limit on highways in New Zealand is 100 km/h (62 mph) – it would take approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to 3 hours if you drive from Christchurch to Tekapo.
This drive could take slightly longer if you incorporate several stops or if the weather conditions do not allow you to drive at the maximum possible speeds.
You’ll pass through several towns and along farmland (wide open grass fields), and as you get closer and closer to Tekapo, the scenery will start to become mountainous.
How to get to Lake Tekapo from Christchurch
While there are several ways to get to Christchurch, the quickest way is to fly to Christchurch airport whether on a domestic flight or an international flight.
Once in Christchurch rent a car and then take State Highway 1 towards Timaru, so drive south.
You’ll hit several towns on your way down south such as Rolleston, Dunsandel, Rakaia, Ashburton, Hinds, and Rangitata before reaching the junction of State Highway 1 and State Highway 79.
Tussock grass and Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
The scariest part of this section of the drive will be driving on the Rakaia bridge (the longest bridge in New Zealand) and the Rangitata bridge.
If you’re someone who is used to driving on the right hand side of the road in your own country, you might be afraid to drive too close to the center line of the road when driving on the left hand side of the road in New Zealand. Well, on the two aforementioned bridges, you won’t have much space to move your car away from the center line (you’d otherwise scrape the car on the brick walls of the bridges), so things can get a bit scary for you when crossing these two bridges.
Once you get off the Rangitata bridge and have passed the welcoming sign for Rangitata, start looking for a large green sign on the left hand side of the road, because this junction is easily missed. Go right on State Highway 79 at the junction.
Once you’re on State Highway 79, you can follow the signs to Geraldine. Before reaching Geraldine, you’ll reach a junction with Inland Scenic Route 72, go left on this road, and cross a one-lane bridge.
In Geraldine again there is a tricky junction that you can easily miss. Once you’ve passed the Shell station on the right hand side of the road and are driving on the main street in Geraldine, start looking for a green sign on the left hand side of the road with "Mount Cook" written on it. Go right at the junction onto State Highway 8.
From Geraldine, drive on State Highway 8 to Fairlie. This part of the route is not only straight and flat in some places, but it also has several winding roads, which go up and down a few rolling hills.
Once you see a red sign for a cafe, you’re not too far from Fairlie. Take the tight bend at the top of the hill and go left down the hill towards Fairlie.
Once you reach Fairlie, you’ll see another green sign indicating the junction ahead. Go right at the junction and you’ll be on your way to Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook.
The road is pretty straight and flat until you reach Burkes Pass where it climbs and then stays relatively high as a good indication that you’ve reach the High Country.
After Burkes Pass, it is a 10-minute drive to Lake Tekapo.
You can extend this scenic drive by driving from Lake Tekapo to Lake Pukaki and the onto Mount Cook National Park.
And if you want to drive further onto Queenstown, check out the Christchurch to Queenstown article for the exact driving times from city to city.
Basic info for the best route from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo
| Driving distance: | 220 km (137 mi) |
| Driving time: | 2.5 – 3 hours |
| Road type: | Sealed (paved) highways |
| Road condition: | Very good; smooth driving |
| Best time to drive: | Morning |
| What you’ll see: | Towns, farmland, hills, and mountains |
The following map shows the starting point (arrow with star) and end point (flag) for this scenic drive when driving from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo. Use the plus and minus buttons to zoom in and out of the map to see more or less detail on the map.
Figure 1. Map of best driving route from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo South Island New Zealand.
Video of the best route from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo
The following 5-minute video gives you a taste of what to expect on this scenic drive and what’s considered the best (and quickest) driving route from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo where scenery and driving times are concerned.
Filed under Scenic Drives
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2 Responses to “Best driving route from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo New Zealand”
Posted Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Cool. Thinking of going down to Tekapo/Twizel/Mt Cook again late August or early September. Maybe.
Posted Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Have been aiming to visit early August for a couple of years now, but it’s difficult for me to get away then. If you do go, let me know how it was with amounts of snow etc. On second thought, I’ll see that in your pics anyway.