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State Highway 79
Route information
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency
Length	61.0 km (37.9 mi)
Major junctions
East end	SH 1 (Orari-Rangitata Highway) at Rangitata
West end	SH 8 (Main Street/Mount Cook Road) at Fairlie
Location
Country	New Zealand
Primary destinations	Geraldine
Highway system
New Zealand state highways Motorways and expressways List
← SH 78 → SH 80

State Highway 79 (SH 79) is a New Zealand state highway connecting the South Canterbury communities of Rangitata, Geraldine, and Fairlie. Starting at State Highway 1 the highway is 61 kilometres in length and runs in a general east–west direction. 6.3 km of the highway through Geraldine runs concurrently with the Inland Scenic Route (), formerly State Highway 72. The road is a two-lane single carriageway, with a one-lane bridge crossing the Orari River.

It is an important tourist highway, and forms part of the most direct route between Christchurch and the Mackenzie Country, Aoraki / Mount Cook and Queenstown/Wānaka.

The highway starts on the Canterbury Plains and proceeds in a north-westerly direction. The highway then intersects with the Inland Scenic Route and crosses the Orari River. The highway then veers to the south and arrives in Geraldine. In the town centre, SH 79 turns right and passes through the southern sections of the township before veering to the west towards the foothills. The road gradually passes through sections of pine forest and farmlands and is generally hilly and curvy in some spots before descending into the township of Fairlie.^[1]

This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections which should be presented in a properly formatted junction table. Please consult this guideline for information on how to create one. Please improve this article if you can. (November 2021)

Territorial authority	Location	km	jct	Destinations	Notes
Timaru District	Rangitata	0		SH 1 north – Ashburton, Christchurch SH 1 south – Temuka, Timaru	SH 79 begins
		9		Inland Scenic Route (Geraldine-Arundel Road) – Methven, Mount Hutt Ski Area	SH 79/Inland Scenic Route (Regional Route 72) concurrency begins
				Orari River
	Geraldine	15		Inland Scenic Route (Talbot Street) – Winchester, Timaru	SH 79/Inland Scenic Route (Regional Route 72) concurrency ends
Mackenzie District	Fairlie	61		SH 8 east – Timaru SH 8 west – Tekapo, Aoraki / Mount Cook	SH 79 ends

• List of New Zealand state highways

• New Zealand Transport Agency

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