.
Main route The highway leaves SH1 at
Washdyke, an industrial suburb of
Timaru, travelling initially northwest through
Pleasant Point then continuing to the town of
Fairlie. From here the route tends westward and rapidly increases in altitude, passing the southern end of the two great Mackenzie Basin lakes of
Tekapo and
Pukaki. From Pukaki the highway turns southwest across the upper reaches of the
Waitaki Valley, passing through the former
hydroelectricity service town of
Twizel and
Omarama before again climbing to cross the
Lindis Pass, which, at 971 metres, is the highest point on the highway's path. The highway winds along the valley of the
Lindis River, reaching the upper
Clutha River not far from
Tarras. From here, the highway runs close to the eastern shore of the man-made
Lake Dunstan before passing the historic town of
Cromwell. The highway turns south as it travels through the
Cromwell Gorge passing the country's third largest hydroelectric dam, the
Clyde Dam at
Clyde. The highway continues along the Clutha Valley through the town of
Alexandra and past
Lake Roxburgh to the town of
Roxburgh. Much of this part of the highway's journey is past fruit orchards, and historic gold-diggings from the
Otago gold rush. From Roxburgh, the highway turns southeastward, passing
Ettrick,
Raes Junction and
Beaumont, where it turns away from the Clutha, before reaching
Lawrence, close to the original strike in the
Otago gold rush. From here, the highway continues past
Waitahuna and the twisting
Manuka Gorge, reaching the plain of the
Tokomairaro River at
Clarksville, three kilometres south of
Milton.
Spur sections State Highway 8 has two spurs:
State Highway 8A and
State Highway 8B. These two spurs connect the highway with State Highway 6, which lies on the western bank of
Lake Dunstan. State Highway 8A runs for 23 km from SH 6 at Luggate to connect with SH8 close to
Tarras. State Highway 8B runs for just 2.6 km from SH8 at Deadmans Point across the lake to the town of
Cromwell. SH 8B forms part of the main route between
Queenstown and
Christchurch.
Route changes The course of SH8 between Clyde and Tarras was substantially altered during the 1980s as part of the construction of the
Clyde Dam, which flooded much of the
Cromwell Gorge, including the former route of the highway. A completely new section was built between Clyde and Cromwell; for SH8B the old single-lane bridge crossing the Clutha was replaced with a new two-lane bridge approximately 1.5 km to the north. ==History==