Big Sky Cottage is directly adjacent to the Otago Central Rail Trail on Lauder Road (sometimes called Lauder Matakanui Road) just off SH85 in the village of Lauder, Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand.

Lauder is

• 34kms or under 25 minutes drive from Alexandra
• 66kms or 45 minutes drive from Cromwell
• 130kms, or an hour-and-a-half by car from Queenstown and 120kms from Wanaka
• 200kms or two-and-a-half hours drive from Dunedin
• 460kms from Christchurch

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Directions To Lauder

From Queenstown

• Take route SH6 to Cromwell, passing through the Gibbston Valley and Kawarau Gorge

• Just before Cromwell, turn right off SH6 onto route 8B towards Cromwell and then head towards Clyde on SH8 via the spectacular Cromwell Gorge and Lake Dunstan

• If going direct to Lauder and bypassing Alexandra, just past Clyde take the turn off to the left signposted Omakau and Springvale and proceed through Muttontown to where this road joins SH85. At the junction with SH85, turn left to Omakau

• If going to Lauder via Alexandra, continue through to Alexandra on SH85 and then follow the signposts to Ranfurly on SH85

• Once on SH85, continue through Chatto Creek to Omakau. Lauder is a further 8kms beyond Omakau on SH85

From Dunedin

• Take SH87 to Middlemarch (you may want to stop off at the Kissing Gate Cafe for refreshments and yummy food on your way into the town) and then on to where SH87 joins SH85 near Kyeburn, 49kms beyond Middlemarch

• At the junction with SH85, turn left along SH85 for 16kms to Ranfurly

• Continue for 54kms along SH85 through Ranfurly, Wedderburn and Becks until you reach Lauder

From Christchurch (the scenic route)

• Take SH1 south through Ashburton

• At Rangitata, turn right off SH1 onto SH79 to Geraldine and Fairlie

• At Fairlie, take SH8 to Lake Tekapo, Twizel and Omarama

• Continue on SH8 through Omarama to the Lindis Pass and then on to Cromwell

• Once at Cromwell, continue on to Clyde as per the instructions above for travelling from Queenstown