Lindis Pass New Zealand scenic drive
The scenic drive through Lindis Pass offers 63 km of mountain and tussock grassland scenery. Learn how to get to Lindis Pass and see a video of what it looks like.
Lindis Pass is one of my favorite places in New Zealand and a must-do when you visit New Zealand.
Lindis Pass is located on the South Island of New Zealand. Lindis Pass is a Scenic Reserve, which lies approximately 32 km Southwest of Omarama, but the boundary for the scenic reserve starts about 18 km South of Omarama on State Highway 8.
Lindis Pass can be best described as "sculptured smooth hillslopes and prominent ridges in montane to sub-alpine snow tussock grassland with very occasional shrubs".
In other words, what you’ll see is mostly grass on mountain slopes; yellow-brownish grass to be more exact. The color of the grass really pops out during the hours of the early morning or late afternoon.
The scenic drive is approximately 63 km in length. Driving at about 60 to 100 km/h (37 to 62 mph), it would take approximately 35 – 60 minutes to go through Lindis Pass.
The road through Lindis Pass is hilly and winding, so you won’t be able to drive 100 km/h (62 mph) very often.
Other than a few pullouts and picnic spots, you will not come across anything here. The landscape is empty, but immensely gorgeous.
How to get to Lindis Pass
From Christchurch drive to Lake Tekapo, and then from Lake Tekapo drive to Lake Pukaki, and then onwards to Twizel and Omarama. From Omarama you can drive South on State Highway 8 to Lindis Pass.
Before reaching Lindis Pass when driving from Omarama, you can take a short detour down Ahuriri Valley and back by driving on Birchwood road, which is a gravel road.
If you’re coming from the South, you can reach Lindis Pass from Cromwell by driving North on State Highway 8.
Basic info for the scenic drive from Tekapo to Lake Pukaki
| Driving distance: | 63 km (39 mi) |
| Driving time: | 40 – 60 minutes |
| Road type: | Sealed (paved) two-lane highway |
| Road condition: | Very good; smooth driving |
| Best time to drive: | Early morning or late afternoon |
| What you’ll see: | Mountains, tussock grassland, lupins (in summer), snow (in winter) |
The following map shows the starting point (arrow with star) and end point (flag) for this scenic drive when driving through Lindis Pass from South (Tarras) to North (Omarama). 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 State Highway 8 through Lindis Pass, New Zealand.
Video of the Lindis Pass scenic drive
The 3-minute video below takes you on a scenic drive through Lindis Pass on a somewhat sunny summer morning starting at approximately 7:30 a.m..
Filed under Scenic Drives
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