Highway 43 recommended

[Hitcher]

On Sunday Mrs Hitcher (of VZ800K3 Marauder fame) and myself rode SH43 "the forgotten world highway" from Stratford to Taumarunui.

It had been some years since we had been through here and the first time on bikes. Magnificent!

Lots of other bikers -- Ulysses groups from New Plymouth and Wanganui -- had decided to to the in-and-back to Whangamomona leg (there's no retail gas to be had on SH43 between Toko and Taumarunui) and we met heaps of riders on the road and at the Whanga' pub. A glorious day in there too -- no wind, as opposed to blustery weather at Stratford.

The Whangamomona saddle is a fair test of riding skill -- some steep descents into blind, narrow 15km corners. Woo hoo!

Mrs Hitcher's new ride went Phutt 2km short of the seal in the Tangarakau Gorge. AA roadside rescue was a waste of time. Fortunately a friendly passing motorist (rides a Suzuki 750 Intruder) showed us where the fusebox was (makes note to put owner's manual under seat). A new fuse and we were goff and off, albeit slightly behind schedule.

When we made "civilisation" at Taumarunui we were getting short on daylight to attempt the return journey, so headed up SH4 to Eight-mile Junction and back to Stratford via Mokau. Twilight was falling on the ride down the coast. Beautiful lighting, and a light on-shore breeze. Smell of the sea... Glorious!

A word to the wise -- gas is hard to find in the provinces after 5:00pm on a Sunday. If the Shell station at Awakino hadn't been open we would have been rooted somewhere about Urenui (the Zrex would have made New Plymouth but the Marauder only has a 13 litre tank).

A brilliant day on one of New Zealand's best motorcycling roads. Highly recommended.

[Motu]

Keep quiet about this one eh? only tell bikers.I do this one a couple of times a year,she's a glorious road,I just love climbing thoses saddles.You should have tried it when it was all gravel and the Moki tunnel was lower.

[Yarg]

What was the gravel section like.
Thanks.
yarg

[franco]

Hey, if you want really long fast roads to open up on, I drove up SH32 (coming from Wellington) going to Mangakino for the weekend. Was driving as I had the missus and the kid.

Anyways, agreed the whole area is a forgotten paradise of great stretches of good roads. Even though I was driving the car, I let her open up a bit (yeehar).

I am thinking of buying a cheap patch of land/ bach etc in the area, and riding up there on occasion

[Hitcher]

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What was the gravel section like.
Thanks.
yarg

The gravel section is good. 12km of it -- no significant uphills or downhills. No big stones. There were a few corrugations and potholes -- a good test for the Zrex's suspension set-up which I think I will now soften just a little. It was dusty though -- oncoming campervans threw up tonnes of it!

Now if you want to see big, roll-you-around-all-over-the-place, loose, father-raping gravel, ride up to the Stratford Plateau on Mt Egmont/Taranaki -- in the dark... Woo Hoo!

[LB]

yep, it's a cracker of a road. We last did it 12 months ago. Some of our mates (BugSplat, Matt T, Scrosser) took that route on the Southern X to get between Cape Egmont and East Cape. I don't like gravel, but it's well worth doing - I can easily cope with 12k of normally good gravel. The tourist outfits are trying to promote Whanga and the road "lost highway" etc - I'm with you on this one Motu, let's try and keep it quiet to the cage drivers!

[Motu]

It will be a shame when SH43 is all sealed - everytime I go through a little more of the Tangarakau has succumbed to seal creap.Then we will loose it,everyman and his dog will be on it - a grannies road,part of the camper trail....25 Transit campers in convoy making it impossible to have fun on the saddles.Cafes will crop up and the posers will have their bikes lined up with leathers gleaming - shit,I hope I'm in a wheelchair by then,it's getting harder and harder for me to find true back roads where I'm all alone just enjoying myself.

Back in the 70s when it was all gravel this was truly a lost world,the road was just a single dusty track and contrary to what you would think it was possibly more populated than today - this was before the oil companies,the Post Office and the railway pulled the plug on the area...all those abandond houses you saw were lived in,although the inhabitants had six fingers and seven toes....they would come out onto the porch and watch a potential dinner go past.

I want to spend more time on those roads before it's too late - but don't worry...there's lots more roads in that area - eh DZL?

[SPman]

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I'm the slime oozin' out
From your TV set

Aaahhhhhhh. FZ Off course....

[georgedubyabush]

Motu, you're not the one coming up here and sabotaging the new seal and equipment at Opononi are you?

[Pickle]

Yep this is a great road pity that not more of it is gravel, we did it last year and stayed at the Whanga Pub $50 ( motorcycle friendly ) for the night including dinner and Breakie. Try heading from Whanga to Stratford & detour to the Bridge to Somewhere nice piece of smooth clay road which is very slippery in the wet. Next to no traffic as the road ends couple hundred metres past the bridge
Word of caution to everyone this is Banjo Country.

[Motu]

It's on the xtra home page today,telling all the tourists and elderly where to go for a quiet,slooow drive.

http://xtramsn.co.nz/travel/0,,8575-1353460,00.html