Why this ride
Volcanic landforms, exposed roads and strong destination anchors. It also links naturally to Te Wahipounamu not nearby; Rotorua geothermal landscape.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Thermal Explorer Highway
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 329 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 43
- 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.
Access context
Check NZTA closures, alpine weather, gravel share and ferry status. Specific flag: traffic; weather.
Seasonal context
Nov-Apr
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hamilton
Hamilton straddles the Waikato River, New Zealand's longest, in the middle of some of the richest dairy country on earth. It is the country's fourth-largest city, a university and agricultural research town, and it is often treated by passing travellers as somewhere to get through on the way to somewhere else. That is a little unfair, but on a ride to Taupō it is mostly what it is: a place to fill the tank, eat something and get back on the road.
Read the complete Hamilton write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hamilton sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Rotorua.
2. Rotorua
Rotorua smells of eggs, and everyone is soon used to it. The city sits in the crater of an ancient volcano, on the shore of a lake, and the ground beneath it is alive: steam rises from roadside drains, mud pools bubble in parks, and in the thermal reserve of Te Puia the Pohutu geyser erupts many times a day, throwing a column of boiling water twenty metres or more into the air. The sulphur is the price of living on a hot spot, and the nickname of Rotovegas, half affection and half mockery, covers the tourist bustle.
Read the complete Rotorua write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rotorua comes up 90 km in. Next is Taupo.
3. Taupō
The lake at Taupō is so big and so calm on a still morning that it is hard to believe what it actually is: the flooded crater of one of the most violent volcanoes on the planet. Around 25,500 years ago, the Oruanui eruption blew out an enormous volume of rock and ash, and the collapse formed much of the basin the lake now fills. Then, roughly 1,800 years ago, the Hatepe eruption sent ash and pumice across the North Island and, according to some accounts, coloured sunsets as far away as Rome and China. Lake Taupō, the largest lake in New Zealand, sits in that scar.
Read the complete Taupo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
180 km in you reach Taupo. Next is Napier.
4. Napier
Planning note
Napier, late in the day.
Recorded source links
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Taupō Volcanic Plateau · 546 km