Police at the scene of the crash, just south of Otekaieke, said seven cars were involved in the collision about noon in a 100kmh zone of on State Highway 83.
Constable Ashley Pickworth, of Oamaru, said smoke from a controlled burn off had drifted across the road and he believed the cars drove into the smoke cloud.
The smoke thickened and cars slowed down. Others then crashed into the back of those vehicles.
Some drivers at the scene had trouble speaking English while others talked about how the crash had affected their trip.
One family from England spoke of the crash being the second one they had experienced while on holiday in another country. They had previously hit and killed a deer in Canada.
Const Pickworth said no-one received any serious injuries in the crash, but three of the vehicles were significantly damaged.
Duntroon and Kurow volunteer fire brigades were at the scene to extinguish the burn off.
The road was shut for about 20 minutes and then opened to one lane while the crash scene was cleared.
Const Pickworth said it was too early to say if charges would be laid. Police inquiries were ongoing.
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we drove through the smoke about ten minutes before this crash - the guy who lit this should be charged with reckless endangerment - the fire was burning wet long grass right alongside the road for about 100 metres and the smoke was heavy and impossible to see more than 5 metres - no traffic control or warning signs - we nearly got hit (or nearly hit as no way to say who was on the wrong side of the road the visibility was so limited) by a car coming the other way too.