State Highway 65 (New Zealand)

This article is about State Highway 65 in New Zealand. For other uses, see Shenandoah (disambiguation).

State Highway 65 (also known as the Shenandoah Highway) is a New Zealand state highway in the South Island. It is 71 km long and runs south to north down the Maruia river valley from SH 7 at Springs Junction, 15 km west of the main divide at the Lewis Pass, to SH 6 in the Buller Gorge, 11 km west of Murchison. It forms part of the most direct route between Christchurch and Nelson. It takes its name from a small settlement toward its northern end.

State Highway 65
Route information
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi
Length	71.7 km (44.6 mi)
Major junctions
North end	SH 6 near Murchison
South end	SH 7 at Springs Junction
Location
Country	New Zealand
Primary destinations	Shenandoah, Maruia
Highway system
New Zealand state highways Motorways and expressways List
← SH 63 → SH 67

The road is sealed and two-lane, with some single-lane bridges. The surrounding country is used for pastoral farming (beef and dairy) with some forestry on the surrounding hills. Springs Junction is the only locality with fuel or food along the route while Maruia is the largest settlement along the route.

Maruia Falls following heavy rain.

Maruia Falls, a 5-m waterfall near the road, did not exist prior to the 1929 Murchison earthquake (magnitude 7.8).

In 2019 a part of the road between Murchison and Maruia faced erosion from the Maruia River, caused by heavy rain.^[1]

See also

• List of New Zealand state highways