Fairlight is at the end of the Mataura River valley, just off the Southern Scenic Route, about 10 km north of Garston. A small historic rail station, with some excellent explanatory panels, marks the endpoint for the tourist steam train trip from Kingston at the south end of Lake Wakatipu. It’s also a toilet break on the Around the Mountains Cycle Trail.
But the landscape backdrop to Fairlight is superb. To the east is a prominent, rocky, steep mountain face with a high point of 967 metres, largely covered in golden tussock. Oddly, it appears to have no name, but it is the start of the Eyre Mountains, which run to the south and west sides of Lake Wakatipu to Mt Nicholas and provide the main attraction for the cycle trail. To the east is the Tapuae-o-Uenuku / Hector Mountains, and to the north is Trotters Plain. This wide, mostly flat post-glacial valley runs up to Kingston and the south end of Lake Wakatipu.
The road is mostly straight along the plain, with plenty of safe places to stop for photos.
