North Island (SH 1N) SH 1 starts at
Cape Reinga, at the northwestern tip of the
Aupōuri Peninsula, and since April 2010 has been
sealed (mainly with either
chipseal or
asphalt) for its entire length. From
Waitiki Landing south of Cape Reinga, SH 1 travels down the central-eastern side of the peninsula to
Kaitaia, New Zealand's northernmost town, then travels through the
Mangamuka Gorge before turning south-east across the
Northland Peninsula on to
Kawakawa in the
Bay of Islands where the roadway is shared by the
Bay of Islands Vintage Railway track, and then south to the city of
Whangārei, the largest urban area in Northland. SH 1 then skirts the south-western Whangārei Harbour, nearing the coast briefly at
Ruakākā, before proceeding down to wind through the
Brynderwyn Hills before approaching the upper reaches of the
Kaipara Harbour. The highway crosses into the
Auckland Region, and passes through
Wellsford and
Warkworth, again heading for the east coast. Just north of
Warkworth, the road widens to a four-lane motorway known as Ara Tūhono, Puhoi to Warkworth motorway. In the Moir Hill section, the road widens to 6 lanes with the addition of crawler lanes on the uphill sections. Near
Puhoi, on the
Hibiscus Coast, SH 1 becomes the
Auckland Northern Motorway. The section of the motorway from Warkworth to
Orewa is an automated
toll road. At Orewa the motorway becomes toll-free, crossing farmland to the
North Shore of
Auckland. The road crosses through suburbs to the
Waitematā Harbour, which it briefly follows before crossing it by the
Auckland Harbour Bridge into Auckland's city centre and the
Central Motorway Junction. At this junction, SH 1 becomes the
Auckland Southern Motorway, and proceeds in a south-easterly direction across the
Auckland isthmus, through
Manukau and
Papakura to the top of the
Bombay Hills, just short of the Auckland/
Waikato boundary. At Bombay, SH 1 becomes the
Waikato Expressway, a four-lane dual-carriageway expressway. The expressway takes the highway down the Bombay Hills to Mercer, where SH 1 meets the
Waikato River, which it broadly follows for the next . The Waikato Expressway bypasses
Hamilton city centre to the east, then bypasses
Cambridge to the north before reverting to a single carriageway east of the town. The highway continues eastward to the town of
Tīrau, where it turns south to pass through
Putāruru and
Tokoroa and the surrounding exotic
pine plantation forest area. At Wairakei, SH 1 takes an eastern route to bypass
Taupō and meet the
Lake Taupō shoreline south of the town near
the airport. SH 1 follows the eastern shore of the lake for to
Tūrangi, at the southern end of the lake. Via SH32/41 the distance is about shorter than this section of SH1. Turning southwards again, SH 1 leaves Tūrangi and ascends onto the
North Island Volcanic Plateau, passing through the fringes of the
Tongariro National Park and into the
Rangipo Desert, passing the volcanoes of
Ruapehu,
Ngauruhoe and
Tongariro. The road between Rangipo ( south of Tūrangi) and Waiouru is commonly known as the
Desert Road. SH 1 enters the
Manawatū-Whanganui Region, and descends through an army training area to the end of the Desert Road at
Waiouru. From Waiouru, the highway follows tributaries of the
Rangitikei River through
Taihape to meet the main river at Utiku. It then follows the western bank of the Rangitikei through
Ohingaiti and
Hunterville to
Bulls. At Bulls, SH 1 turns southeast to cross the river, turning southwest again down the road at
Sanson. SH 1 crosses the
Manawatū Plains, passing the city of
Palmerston North about west of it. It passes through
Foxton, before reaching the end of the plain at
Levin. From Levin, SH 1 follows the narrowing western coastal plain southwards. The highway crosses into the
Wellington Region south of Levin, and just north of
Ōtaki widens into the
Kāpiti Expressway, a fully grade-separated four-lane dual carriageway. This expressway bypasses the Kāpiti conurbation of
Waikanae,
Paraparaumu and
Raumati, before reaching the end of the coastal plain at
Mackays Crossing. It then becomes the
Transmission Gully Motorway and steeply ascends through mountainous terrain to the Wainui Saddle, before descending through
its namesake to
Pāuatahanui and bypassing
Porirua to the east before reaching the northern suburbs of
Wellington, New Zealand's capital city. Immediately after entering the city of
Wellington in the suburb of
Linden, the Transmission Gully Motorway ends, and SH 1 merges on to the
Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway. The motorway gradually ascends through
Tawa before reaching
Johnsonville. Here, the motorway ends, and SH 1 as a six-lane arterial road steeply descends through the
Ngauranga Gorge to the
Ngauranga Interchange, on the shore of
Wellington Harbour. At
Ngauranga, SH 1 becomes the
Wellington Urban Motorway, skirting the shore of the harbour then passing the city centre to the west. The motorway ends at
Te Aro, where a one-way system takes traffic to the
Basin Reserve. Northbound traffic uses the
Wellington Inner City Bypass (opened 2007), while southbound traffic uses
Vivian Street. From the Basin Reserve, SH 1 travels through the
Mount Victoria Tunnel to Wellington's eastern suburbs and
Wellington International Airport. SH 1 ends at a roundabout at the entrance to the airport. File:MetalRoadCapeReinga.jpg|SH 1 near Cape Reinga. Sealing of this section was completed in April 2010. File:NrthMway_from_Forrest_Hill.jpg|SH 1 as the Auckland Northern Motorway, looking north from Forrest Hill, North Shore File:Auckland Harbour Bridge Deck.jpg|SH 1 crossing the Auckland Harbour Bridge File:Auckland CMJ Southern End.jpg| SH 1 through the Central Motorway Junction ("Spaghetti Junction") Image:Auckland State Highway One.jpg|SH 1, as the
Southern Motorway, in
Ōtāhuhu, Auckland File:SH 1 Desert Road looking north.jpg|Travelling north on SH 1 through the Rangipo Desert. This section is known as the Desert Road, and is frequently closed by snow in winter. File:Wellington Motorway.jpg|SH 1 as the Wellington Urban Motorway, running beside Wellington Harbour
South Island (SH 1S) The South Island section of SH 1 starts in
Picton, adjacent to the railway station. Leaving Picton, SH 1 rises steeply to cross the Elevation saddle into the valley of the
Tuamarina River. It descends alongside this river and across the
Wairau Plain before reaching
Blenheim. SH 1 passes through Weld Pass and Dashwood Pass to enter the
Awatere Valley, then countinues southward before passing
Lake Grassmere. From the small town of Ward the highway heads to the coast and follows it to
Kaikōura. After passing Kaikōura, it veers inland, twisting through the
Hundalee Ranges before emerging at the northern end of the
Canterbury Plains. The section of highway between the Clarence River and Hapuku Rivers north of Kaikōura was closed from 14 November 2016 to 15 December 2017, due to damage from the
2016 Kaikōura earthquake. SH 1 passes through
Amberley and
Woodend before becoming the
Christchurch Northern Motorway and bypassing
Kaiapoi to the west. At The Groynes west of
Belfast, the motorway narrows to a four-lane divided arterial. SH 1 continues around the north-western urban fringe of
Christchurch, passing just east of
Christchurch International Airport. At
Hornby, the highway turns south-west, narrows to a two-lane undivided road and passes through
Templeton. It then merges onto the
Christchurch Southern Motorway where the highway becomes expressway standard until it approaches Rolleston. South of Rolleston, SH 1 becomes virtually straight as it crosses the wide fan of the Canterbury plains, crossing the
country's longest road bridge at
Rakaia before reaching
Ashburton, and then veering back towards the coast, which it reaches at
Timaru. Between Ashburton and Timaru it crosses
Rangitata Island in the
Rangitata River. South of Timaru, the road again passes through gentle hill country, staying close to the coast but largely out of sight of it. The road veers inland briefly, bypassing
Waimate as it reaches the plains around the mouth of the
Waitaki River, which it crosses to enter
Otago. It passes through
Oamaru, from where it turns inland briefly, crossing undulating hill country before again reaching the coast at
Moeraki. From here the road again hugs the coast along
Katiki Beach, remaining closer to the ocean than at any point since Kaikōura. The highway turns inland at Shag Point, passing through
Palmerston and
Waikouaiti. South of Waikouaiti the road again becomes steep, rising sharply over the
Kilmog hill before dropping down to the coast at
Blueskin Bay, then rising again via
Dunedin-Waitati Highway (a two- to four-lane
carriageway which used to be designated a
motorway) to the northern outskirts of
Dunedin. From here it descends a steep, twisting stretch of Pine Hill Road through
Pine Hill, before passing the
University of Otago and heading through the city centre. For much of its route through Central Dunedin the highway is split into two separate northbound and southbound roads, part of the city's
one-way street system. These roads traverse the central city 2–3 blocks southeast of the heart of the
CBD. At the southern end of central Dunedin, the highway becomes the
Caversham By-pass, which rises along the
Caversham Valley before again becoming a motorway at the saddle of Lookout Point. The four-lane motorway (
Dunedin Southern Motorway) runs through Dunedin's southern suburbs until the interchange with
SH 87 at
Mosgiel. SH 1 then heads southwest across the
Taieri Plains. The area between the
Taieri and
Waipori Rivers is flood-prone, and the highway crosses this on a major embankment known colloquially as the
flood-free highway. SH 1 continues through gentle hill country and along the shore of
Lake Waihola, then crosses the
Tokomairiro Plains into
Milton. South of Milton is a major junction with
SH 8 at Clarksville Junction. SH 1 continues to cross rolling hill country to reach
Balclutha. From Balclutha, the highway turns west, veering briefly north as it heads inland to avoid the rough hills of
The Catlins. It passes through the small town of
Clinton before reaching the major provincial town of
Gore. Because of the names of these two towns, this stretch of the highway was christened "The Presidential Highway" during the time of the
Clinton-Gore administration in the United States. At Gore, the highway crosses the
Mataura River; from here the road again turns south to roughly follow the river. The highway passes through
Mataura before turning west at
Edendale. Many travellers choose to turn onto
SH 93 at Clinton, as this route shortens the journey between Clinton and Mataura by about and bypasses
Gore. Over its last stretch the road veers southwest before reaching the city of
Invercargill. In central Invercargill it meets the southern end of and turns due south, skirting the estuary of the
New River and Bluff Harbour. It passes through the small town of
Bluff before reaching its terminus at
Stirling Point, a kilometre south of Bluff. A commemorative signpost at Stirling Point indicates distances to major world centres and to the start of the highway at Picton. File:CheviotMainStreet3.JPG|SH 1 passing through the North Canterbury town of
Cheviot File:SH1 four-laning at Memorial Ave 040.JPG|Upgrading of SH1 to four lanes in
Harewood, Christchurch and grade-separating at Memorial Avenue is under construction Image:L1070358.JPG|Dunedin-Waitati Hwy looking north from near the Pigeon Flat Overbridge.
Blueskin Bay is visible in the background. Image:NZ-SH1-dunedin.jpg|In
Dunedin, the highway forms a pair of multi-lane one-way streets. Cumberland Street, south of the city centre. Image:Waihola main road looking south.jpg|SH 1 in the Otago town of
Waihola Image:Bluff signpost.jpg|Signpost at Stirling Point,
Bluff Spur sections SH 1 has two spurs, both in the vicinity of
Hamilton: •
SH 1B runs from SH 1N at
Taupiri to SH 1N at
Cambridge, and provides an eastern bypass of Hamilton. Gazetted in 1999, the highway utilises many roads which were previously under the administration of the
Waikato District Council. Part of the highway also shares a concurrency with
SH 26. Recent progress of construction of the
Waikato Expressway at Ngāruawāhia and Cambridge have also resulted in the curtailment of SH 1B at both the northern and southern termini. SH 1B is to be handed back to the Waikato District Council after the completion of the Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway in 2022. Because it was not intended to be a permanent state highway, there are intersections where the state highway gives priority to local roads in several places. •
SH 1C runs from SH 1N at
Horsham Downs to SH 1N at
Tamahere. This was the former route of SH 1 through Hamilton, prior to the opening of the Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway in July 2022. This route is . ==Road conditions==