The Tangarakau Gorge is the wild heart of the Forgotten World Highway, State Highway 43, a road that crosses the hills of inland Taranaki between Stratford and Taumarunui and has a reputation among New Zealand riders far out of proportion to its length. For about twelve kilometres here the tarmac gives way to gravel, and the road squeezes between steep, bush-covered walls beside the Tangarakau River, in a landscape of papa mudstone, tree ferns and mist. There is no town of any size nearby, and the closest, Waitara, is a long way west, so this is a stretch to approach with a full tank and a plan.
The riding is wonderfully rough. The gravel is mostly well-graded, but it can be loose, corrugated or slick after rain, with narrow bends where the bush closes in and a drop on one side. A rider should take it slowly, avoid the middle where stones gather, and watch for logging trucks and oncoming cars. Summer is the best time, and a dry day makes it a delight, while wet weather can turn the clay surface treacherous. Fuel stops are few: fill in Stratford or Taumarunui, and do not rely on the little roadside pubs for petrol.
The highway earns its name from its history. The road follows the line of an old bridle track used by settlers in the late nineteenth century, who struggled to farm the steep, bush-covered land, and many farms were abandoned after the Depression and the land reverted to scrub. At nearby Whangamomona, a tiny village with a historic hotel, locals declared a republic in 1989 after a boundary change, complete with a president, and they hold a festival every second January. Tangarakau itself was once a railway-building settlement, and its name lives on as a ghost town in the forest, a fitting symbol of the forgotten world.
The landscape is rich and green. Podocarp forest, rimu, rata and tawa, cloaks the slopes, and the air smells of damp earth and leaf mould. Native birds, including tui, bellbirds and fantails, flit through the bush, and the river runs cold and clear over papa rock. Glow-worms appear in the dark in damp spots, though this is not a ride to attempt at night.
Carry water, food, a tyre repair kit and warm clothes, since mobile coverage is patchy and help may be slow. Treat the gravel with respect, and enjoy the feeling of riding through a place time has overlooked.