Forgotten World and Taranaki Ring

The remote SH43 corridor extended into a complete Taranaki and King Country loop.

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Why this ride

The remote SH43 corridor extended into a complete Taranaki and King Country loop. The road: SH43, SH3 and Taranaki local roads. Distance and riding time are estimates from the checkpoints until the road is measured on this page.

Roadbook

1. New Plymouth start

   Mount Taranaki rises from the flat dairy country of the west coast of New Zealand's North Island like a drawing of a volcano, a nearly perfect cone, 2,518 metres high, often wrapped in cloud and capped with snow. It is also known as Egmont, a name given by Captain Cook, though the Māori name is the older and more widely used. New Plymouth, the city on the coast at its northern flank, sits in the mountain's shadow, with the Tasman Sea on the other side, and the two dominate every view.

   The city has about fifty thousand people and a more relaxed air than Auckland. Pukekura Park, a green valley of lakes, ferns and fountains, runs through the middle of town. On the seafront, a coastal walkway leads to the Wind Wand, a tall, slender kinetic sculpture by Len Lye that sways in the breeze, and to the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, a white arch shaped like a whale's backbone, framing Taranaki behind it. The area's history includes the land wars of the 1860s, whose scars are still part of the region's story, and the more recent gas fields offshore.

   Riders have a choice of roads. Surf Highway 45 circles the mountain's southern coast through dairy farms and small beach towns, with views of black sand beaches, surf breaks and the sea. Inland, the Forgotten World Highway leaves from Stratford on the eastern side, a long and winding road through hills and old farm country, with a tunnel carved by hand and a strange republic of its own. Roads up the mountain itself, such as Egmont Road, climb through forest to the national park with views over the plain. Weather can change in minutes, with cloud closing the mountain and rain sweeping in.

   New Plymouth has fuel, food and rooms in plenty, and Waitara to the north adds more. Fill up before the Forgotten World Highway, where services are scarce. Summer is the best season, though showers can come any time.

2. Stratford stop

   Stratford has a clock tower that plays Shakespeare, and the whole town has leant into the joke. Its streets carry names such as Juliet, Romeo and Portia, and the glockenspiel on the tower acts out scenes from Romeo and Juliet several times a day. It is a farming town of a few thousand people on the eastern flank of Mount Taranaki, in the rolling dairy country of the North Island's west, and it is an easy place to like.

   The mountain is the star. Taranaki, also called Mount Egmont, is a nearly perfect volcanic cone rising to about 2,500 metres from a plain with nothing else around, and it dominates the skyline for miles. In Māori tradition, the mountain once stood with the other volcanoes in the middle of the island, but lost a fight over a woman and fled west to the coast. When the cloud lifts, which is not as often as you would like, the snow-capped summit is a magnificent sight. A road climbs to the Dawson Falls and the lodge on the mountain's south-eastern side.

   For riders, Stratford is the start of the Forgotten World Highway, State Highway 43, which runs about 150 kilometres to Taumarunui through very remote hill country. The road is a long, steady sequence of bends over a dozen saddles, through gorges and bush, with little traffic. About a dozen kilometres of it is unsealed, through the Tangarakau Gorge, and loose gravel needs care. It passes the old Moki Tunnel, a hand-cut hole in the hillside, and Whangamomona, a hamlet that declared itself a republic in 1989 and holds a celebratory day every other year. The pub there is a popular stop.

   Fuel is the thing to plan. Stratford has stations and shops, but the next dependable fuel is a long way off at Taumarunui, so fill up before leaving and keep a margin. Hawera, about twenty-eight kilometres to the south, is the larger town in the area. Bring food, water and layers, since the weather can change quickly in the hills, with mist and rain common on the western side.

   Pick a fine day for the highway. It rewards patience with some of the quietest and most scenic riding in the country.

3. Whangamomona stop

   There is a republic here, and it takes itself exactly as seriously as it should. In 1989 the folk of Whangamomona, annoyed at a boundary change that moved them from Taranaki into Manawatu-Wanganui, declared independence, and they have kept the joke running ever since. Republic Day is held every other January, and the presidents elected over the years have included a goat and a poodle, which says something about the standard of candidates. A passport stamp from the hotel is the souvenir, and you can reasonably claim to have crossed a border.

   The village is tiny, a handful of buildings along State Highway 43, the Forgotten World Highway, which links Stratford in Taranaki to Taumarunui, about 150 kilometres of twisting road through bush and hill farms. The hotel is the heart of the place, a wooden building with a wide veranda, a bar that has seen a lot of dust and a lot of motorcyclists. Mud and rain come with the territory, and the road in this area is steep, winding and tight, passing over saddles with names like Tahora and Strathmore. A stretch of the highway between here and Taumarunui is unsealed, around a dozen kilometres, which is good to know before you book that tight touring schedule.

   What you notice about the landscape is that it is both lush and eroded, steep pasture cut by landslips on soft papa mudstone hills, and the whole district is a world of green. The Whangamomona River winds below the village, and the hills around it fold up steeply on every side. Early settlers cleared the hillsides for farms, and many of the farms were later abandoned, hence the Forgotten World. Rail and road builders cut a tunnel through the hills nearby, the Moki Tunnel, and the Tangarakau Gorge section is wild and narrow.

   Fuel is the one practical point to take seriously. There is nothing between Stratford and Taumarunui that you can rely upon, so fill at one end and ride the whole length on that tank, with a reserve. Stratford is the usual start, a pleasant town with a view of Mount Taranaki on a clear day. In the hotel you can get a hot meal and a cold drink, and a chat about the road ahead from whoever is behind the bar.

   Go slowly, expect rain, and watch for stock on the road. The best days are late spring and autumn, when the hills are green and the traffic light.

4. Taumarunui stop

   Taumarunui is a railway and river town in the middle of the North Island, in the hill country that people call the King Country. The name comes from the Māori King Movement, whose leaders took refuge here in the nineteenth century when the land was closed to the colonial government. The Whanganui and Ongarue rivers meet nearby, and the Whanganui, long a canoe highway, flows south from here through deep bush to the sea. The main trunk railway from Auckland to Wellington passes through, and the town grew as a railway stop, with a main street that still has the look of that busy age.

   It is also the start of the Forgotten World Highway, State Highway 43, a long and extraordinary road across empty farmland and forest to Stratford in Taranaki, around 150 kilometres. The road climbs over three saddles, through steep gorges and old tunnels, past tiny settlements and farms that look as though the clock stopped. The most famous stop is Whangamomona, a village that declared itself a republic in 1989 after a boundary change, and its old hotel and its passport stamp are part of the fun. The Moki Tunnel is a rough, narrow bore through the hill, and a stretch of the road near Tangarakau is unsealed gravel, so you must watch the surface and reduce your speed.

   The riding is slow, twisty and big on character. The bends are tight and often damp, there are few barriers, and the scenery of papa clay hills, tree ferns and sheep paddocks is greener than you expect. Rain is frequent, mist hangs in the gullies, and a cold morning can be icy in the shade, so set off warm and expect to take longer than the distance suggests. Livestock sometimes wander on the road, and wild goats are not unknown.

   Fuel is the thing to settle first. Taumarunui is a town of a few thousand with petrol stations and food, and the highway beyond has long gaps with very little in the way of supplies, so fill the tank here and carry something to eat. Stratford is the next proper town on the far side. To the east you can see the snow on Mount Ruapehu on a clear day, a reminder that the volcanic plateau is close.

5. Awakino stop
6. Back to New Plymouth finish

Where this sits

Other rides by starting-point distance