The Tangarakau Gorge is the unsealed heart of the Forgotten World Highway, State Highway 43, a twelve-kilometre stretch of gravel where the road squeezes through a deep, bush-clad cutting between Whangamomona and Taumarunui. The cliffs on either side are soft sandstone and mudstone, grey and crumbling, hung with fern and moss and dripping with water, and the road follows the bends of the river through them. It is dark, damp and green, and a world away from the open farmland on either side. There is a feeling of remoteness here, as though the modern world has been left behind.
It is also a place with a story. Not far from here, a settlement called Tangarakau once stood, a rough town of workers building the railway line, and the remains of that effort, a few concrete foundations and overgrown clearings, are still visible. The highway itself follows an old route used by Māori and then by settlers, and it earned its name from the ghost towns and forgotten farms along it. A little further along is the Moki Tunnel, a hand-cut tunnel, also called the Hobbit's Hole, and the village of Whangamomona, which declared itself a republic in 1989 after a boundary change, and holds a wild festival every other year.
The ride is a pleasure for those who like their roads wild. The gravel can be loose and slippery in the wet, with potholes and ruts, and the bends are tight. A rider needs to take it slowly, watch for oncoming vehicles, and avoid sudden braking. Rockfalls and slips can partly block the road, so keep your eyes open. Traffic is thin, but logging trucks and farm vehicles use the road, and they have right of way by weight.
The nearest reliable fuel is at Stratford or Taumarunui, at either end of the highway, so make sure you start with a full tank. Whangamomona has a hotel where you can get a meal and a drink, and have your passport stamped as a joke, but it is not always open, so check ahead. Mobile coverage is poor, and help is far away. Take warm clothes and a rain jacket, and enjoy the quiet.