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Forgotten World Highway

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
191 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 42
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis

The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.

Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.

Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.

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Why this ride

A remote hill highway from Taumarunui, New Zealand to Stratford, New Zealand, via Whangamomona. Key character: green hills; tunnel; remote settlements. Surface: paved and short gravel.

Scenic road chapters

Forgotten World Highway

Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 10 km this is Forgotten World Highway, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.

Chapter facts
Length
10 km
Named road
Forgotten World Highway

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Forgotten World Highway point 1

    Taumarunui is where the Forgotten World Highway starts, and the name of the road is not a marketing slogan so much as a fair description. The town stands where the Ongarue and Whanganui rivers meet, in the heart of the North Island, and it was once a bustling railway and river port, with paddle steamers carrying passengers and goods down the Whanganui toward the coast. The railway still passes through, but the trains are fewer, and the town has the quiet, slightly faded look of a place that has seen busier days.

    Read the complete Forgotten World Highway point 1 write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Forgotten World Highway point 1 sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Forgotten World Highway point 2.

  2. 2. Forgotten World Highway point 2

    Whangamomona is a village with a population that can be counted on one's fingers and a political history that is considerably larger. In 1988, when regional boundaries were redrawn and the village found itself moved from Taranaki to Manawatu-Wanganui against its wishes, locals shrugged, declared independence and proclaimed the Republic of Whangamomona the following year. Presidents have been elected since then, and they have included a goat and a poodle, with the position taken more seriously by its supporters than its critics might suppose.

    Read the complete Forgotten World Highway point 2 write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Forgotten World Highway point 2 comes up 34 km in. Next is Forgotten World Highway point 3.

  3. 3. Forgotten World Highway point 3

    West of Whangamomona the road gets more tangled, and the hill country of inland Taranaki shows what it is made of. It is the sort of road that feels like a scenic route that has never been formally told it is one.

    Read the complete Forgotten World Highway point 3 write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    68 km in you reach Forgotten World Highway point 3. Next is Forgotten World Highway point 4.

  4. 4. Near Eltham

    Planning note

    Forgotten World Highway point 4, late in the day.

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