A 23-3 win over the Force in Perth was their first victory against the Western Australian side since 2007.
The Highlanders maintained their fifth placing, and have set up a high stakes game against the Chiefs in Invercargill on Saturday night.
The Highlanders sit on 43 points - one point behind the Chiefs - and are seven points clear of the seventh placed team, the Lions.
But the Lions have just two games left, tough ones against the Waratahs and the Stormers.
The Bulls are also handy, one point behind the Lions, but they also have some formidable matches - having to play two more games in Australia and then home to play the Cheetahs. The Brumbies are sixth on 38 points.
The Highlanders play the Hurricanes in Napier, and the Blues in Auckland to finish their season.
Coach Jamie Joseph said his side just had to keep winning.
''We've just got to keep going. We'll get back to Dunedin, have a bit of a breather and then get ready for a big match down in Invercargill,'' he said from Perth yesterday.
''To come away from the tour with two out of three wins, you've got to be happy. As a coach you want to win every match, but to come back and win these two after dropping the first one was great work from the guys.''
Joseph said as far as he was concerned the Hurricanes had already won the New Zealand conference, although mathematically they could be caught.
It looks like a showdown between the Chiefs and Highlanders for the next highest spot on the table, and fourth spot will mean hosting a playoff game in the first round.
The only worry for the Highlanders from the Force match was the injury to No 8 Nasi Manu.
Manu, who had played every game for the side this season, sprained his rotator cuff in his shoulder and pulled out of the match.
Joseph said it was unclear how long the Highlanders co captain would be out for but it was not season ending.
Elliot Dixon had come back to Dunedin to be with his pregnant partner but had to fly back to Perth to come off the bench.
Joseph said the Highlanders' three All Blacks would definitely play in Invercargill.
In his appraisal of the Force win, Joseph praised his side's toughness on defence and maturity.
''Defensively, they put us under a hell of a lot of pressure. But it was a good sign for us that we were able to hold out, not panic and come out of it.
''A couple of years ago, things would have been different. I think it is a good sign that we have learned from what has happened to us in the past.''
Marking captain Ben Smith's 100th game with a win was a big motivation for the side.
''There was an added incentive there for the guys. Ben is held in high regard by the guys and with John Hardie brining up his 50th, it was a big game.''
Smith's 100 games would be recognised after the game in Invercargill.
In other matches, the Hurricanes beat the Blues 29-5 in Auckland, and the Crusaders lost 32-22 to the Waratahs in Sydney, putting them more or less out of the playoffs.
In South Africa, the Lions downed the Cheetahs 40-17 and the Stormers beat the Rebels 31-15.
