The Forgotten World Highway, or Highway 43, winds its way along a 150km stretch of road not for the faint-hearted. It is only partially paved as it was built on a colonial bridle path formed in the late 19th century. The road runs…Read More

The Forgotten World Highway, or Highway 43, winds its way along a 150km stretch of road not for the faint-hearted. It is only partially paved as it was built on a colonial bridle path formed in the late 19th century. The road runs between Taumarunui and Stratford with nothing but remote New Zealand in between. It is a bit mysterious, a bit rugged, even a bit lonely, but it offers some interesting and strange surprises along the way.

Here is a great website offering points of interest along the way. It also gives information on gas stations, accommodation, places to eat, toilets and other miscellaneous information.

There are many reasons to choose this route: history, scenery, remote New Zealand. Above all else, it will be a journey to reflect on what it must have been like trying to tame this land and make a living out of the nothingness you will find. If you find yourself with some clear weather you may be able to see Mt. Taranaki or the three volcanoes of Tongariro National Park.

After our wonderfully filling lunch at The Flax Restaurant in Taumarunui we filled up the car and started our adventure on the Forgotten World Highway, also sometimes referred to as the Lost World Highway. It is estimated that it will take between 2.5 to 3.5 hours to drive the trail from beginning to end. If you plan on spending any time stopping to see sites along the way make sure to allow yourself some extra time. Along the way you will find the standard green and yellow Department of Conservation signs that point out the things to see and do.

The first sights as we head out onto Highway 43 are the green carpeted hills terraced by grazing animals. The velvety green hills look soft enough to run your hand over them. Sheep and cattle graze along the terraces. This is also where your roller-coaster ride begins. During the course of this journey you will travel over four mountain saddles which make for a hilly and curvy drive.

Our next stop was Nevin’s Lookout where you will have panoramic views of the King Country and the Central North Mountains if the weather is clear.

From here we followed the Tangarakau Gorge which appears to be mostly forests of ferns and palm trees.

The road narrows here and narrow bridges give way to 12 km of dirt tracks once you enter the Stratford District. These roads turned out to be quite the adventure. Single-track, but relatively wide, dirt track and one-lane bridges brought us through steep gorges with abundant lush and verdant vegetation. Actually, it is how I imagined the jungles of South America to look only more temperate. It is along this road that we encountered the short " Moki Tunnel", or " Hobbit’s Hole". It is a very unusual, very narrow (2.5 metres?) but very tall (4.5 metres) and has a wooden shored ceiling in truss fashion. Originally dug through in 1936, the tunnel floor was lowered in 1985 to allow for triple-decked stock vehicles to pass.

Once through the tunnel we came upon a huge herd of sheep being moved down the road. There were hundreds of sheep going every which way and we had no chance of getting around them. In no time at all we got down to the pasture they were being moved to so we were able to get on our way again. This was something we got used to seeing here in New Zealand as we traveled more and more—hundreds of sheep, a few sheep dogs and a shepherd on an ATV bringing up the rear.

It had been just over two hours since we departed Taumarunui. With quite a distance left to go, we had to forego some of the rest of the scenery along the way. We wanted to make it to Mount Taranaki in enough time to see the sunset.

The next interesting thing along the way was actually a settlement called Whangamomona, or the Republic of Whangamomona, as it is sometimes referred. This town was established in 1895 and the ‘republic’ established in 1989 when administrative lines were going to be redrawn. Town members protested and declared it a republic. In all seriousness it is more of a joke than anything, but they have a ‘Republic Day’ every year to celebrate and choose a new president. To tell you how serious they are, one year they chose a goat to be president. People arrive in droves from all over the islands to help this tiny town celebrate. The population hovers close to the 40 on the sign as you enter town. There is a café and accommodation here should you decide to stay here and enjoy the peace and quiet of nothingness.

Another 35 minutes on and through the town of Stratford we were lucky enough to find the clouds lifting from Mount Taranaki. Tom and I took the East Egmont Road to the skifield while the clouds slowly lifted away. This area is completely covered in a variegated palate of colour—trees and plants and little wrens fluttering about. We waited for the clouds to lift. Slowly you could see further and further east across the landscape. Since this road doesn’t join up with one of the other two mountain roads, Tom and I headed back down towards Stratford to find a vantage point. We were rewarded with excellent views of Mount Taranaki’s snow-capped peak and green-carpeted base. We were happy to just be able to see the peak. Twice now the Matterhorn in Switzerland has eluded us and we didn’t want it to happen here, too!

Although the Forgotten World Highway intrigued us and gave us charming and remote views of New Zealand, I don’t think I would go out of my way to do this drive again. The dirt/gravel roads, one-lane travel, hills and curves got to be a bit daunting after a couple of hours. We looked forward to a real highway the following day as we ventured down to Wellington.   Close

Before heading down to New Plymouth, on my last trip over there, I went to visit a friend of mine in Whangarei. Whangarei is situated approximately 2 1/2 hours north of Auckland on the east coast and is a great harbour city (by New Zealand's…Read More

Before heading down to New Plymouth, on my last trip over there, I went to visit a friend of mine in Whangarei. Whangarei is situated approximately 2 1/2 hours north of Auckland on the east coast and is a great harbour city (by New Zealand's standards it's a city).

My friend, Sharon, who I met while travelling around Europe, lives in the small harbour town called Whangarei Heads. She has just recently campleted a design course and has a job at Vortex, A designer studio, located at Whangarei Wharf. She was working and has done some great things with clay and weaving as she is part Maori and has been very influenced by their arts and crafts.

Unfortunately I didn't get to see much on this trip but Whangarei has many things to offer, as I have found out on previous trips there.

Those being:

An Old Pioneer Village, which is located opposite Pompallier College, on the outskirts of town heading to Maunu.

The on the inner harbour wharf side there are some fantastic craft shops in which are handicrafts, original fabric designs, Maori Traditional Craftwork, Glass blowing, Jewery and porcelin dolls. Great for a browse around.

Being near the water Whangarei is surrounded by many great sndy beaches, both within the harbour and along the coastline. Some of those beaches are:

Langs Beach, Waipu Cove and Ruakaka Beach to the South.

Matapouri, Whale Bay, Woolleys Beach and Naungaroo to the North.

Whangarei Heads and other smaller beaches within the harbour.

From Whangarei you can also venture to the beautiful Bay of Islands which is home to Keri Keri, Paihia, Russell and Waitangi.

At Keri Keri you can tour around a reconstruction of a Maori Pa and take in the Old Stone Store House which was built by the first settlers.

Russell has some old homes that were erected by the first settlers. Russell can be reached by car, via a car ferry, or by boat.

Paihia has many great restaurants, hotels and shops for the tourists. A Old Ship that houses a Museum is also alongside the main road as you cross the bridge heading from Paihia to Waitangi. It contains shipping memories of the first settlers and is well worth a visit.

At Waitangi you can tour around the site where the Treaty of Waitangi, a peace settlement signed by the first Europeons and the Maoris, was signed. There is a Maori Meeting House there, the Governors original house and a shed that contains a Maori Canoe.

Mount Taranaki is Taranaki's highest peak and is, in fact, the only mountain in the area.During winter, the mountain has plenty of snow at the top, but the snow hardly ever comes below the ranges.The mountain only has one ski field, and therefore is only…Read More

Mount Taranaki is Taranaki's highest peak and is, in fact, the only mountain in the area.

During winter, the mountain has plenty of snow at the top, but the snow hardly ever comes below the ranges.

The mountain only has one ski field, and therefore is only really popular with the locals and people visiting the area at the time. The ski field can only be reached from the Stratford side of the mountain and there is only one road up to the Stratford Mountain House. At the mountain house you have to park your car and hike in the rest of the way on a narrow pathway that will take you around the small gorge to the ski field. I haven't been around here as I have an aversion to heights.

The Stratford Mountain House has recently changed ownership and has been upgraded. The local Maori tribe now owns and operates the place and they're doing a great job. The food is very nice and there a limited number of motel style rooms.

The mountain house is an information office where you can find all sorts of information about the mountain and the history of the area. From here you can find out about the small cabins and hunting lodges that are scattered around.

There are also other roads, from other directions around the mountain, that take you up to various points of interest, like Dawson Fall's Waterfall, and to many walkways. Dawson Falls also has lodge type accommodation - it is somewhat limited in the number of persons it can accommodate.

The mountain is also a popular place for hikers to go in the warmer seasons, as there are plenty of hiking tracks, through beautiful native bush, to waterfalls and up the slopes.

My brother and his family live in Wanagnui, so whenever I am over there visiting New Plymouth I make the effort to go down for a day, at least. Wanganui is approximately a 2 hour drive south of New Plymouth, and is situated on the Wanganui…Read More

My brother and his family live in Wanagnui, so whenever I am over there visiting New Plymouth I make the effort to go down for a day, at least.

Wanganui is approximately a 2 hour drive south of New Plymouth, and is situated on the Wanganui River, not far from the ocean. It is one of the original old river towns and therefore has many historic houses and businesses.

On the Wanganui River you can travel by an old, refurbished, steamer boat, to a tourist shopping area on the banks, futher up the river. There is a porcelin doll shop, a souvenir shop and a cafe on the river bank. You can then get back on the boat for the return trip. This is a very pleasant way to spend an hour or so.

Another popular place to go in Wanganui, especially for kids, is a large playing park, situated on the opposite side of the river from the main town. This park has a Model Train track and people can pay a couple of dollars to have a ride on a small replica of a steam train. There are picnic benches for eating lunch or dinner, there are swings, slides, climbing gyms and seesaws for the kids and there are quiet areas for adults to read books or just relax.

There are also a number of great antique shops in the main shopping area, that are very reasonably priced, for those who are interested.