Akatarawa Road

[R6_kid]

Between Paraparaumu and Upper Hutt - what sort of condition is this road in at the moment?

[Sparky Bills]

Mate, after the weather we have just had the last couple days I wouldnt go near it unless I was on a dual purpose bike.
Do you have a dual purpose bike I can use? Ill show you some nice lines...:innocent:

[R6_kid]

Mate, after the weather we have just had the last couple days I wouldnt go near it unless I was on a dual purpose bike.
Do you have a dual purpose bike I can use? Ill show you some nice lines...:innocent:

I'm gonna be riding the TRX back next week... my friend wants me to go see her in Dannevirke on the way home, seemed like the only interesting way to get there! But if it's going to be THAT interesting I might give it a miss.

[Sparky Bills]

Yeah mate, Its a very tight goat track all year round with loose chip, slips and odd car on your side (keep in mind its single lane).

Stick to the knowen roads and you will have a much nicer trip home.

[R6_kid]

fair call, it would be nice to get home in one piece! Cheers for the heads up.

[sinfull]

If Dannevirke is yr destination, leaving wellington ! Then might i suggest having a look through the back of the wiararapa !
(Use the controls on the top left to scroll in and out and up and down)
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Of course hook right as soon as your in featherston to avoid boredom, down 53 to martinborough, through town and follow your nose through the back country to masterton through tablelands and longbush !


Then when you reach the north end of masterton hook another right follow the masterton castle point road (if you get it right you should come out on this RD, if not you will end up in town centre, in which case head north till the mobil at the north end of town) for a SHORT way till you see the Pongaroa Eketahuna sign ! (aim for Pongaroa)
Dannevirke is at the top left of this map !
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You will enjoy this detour ! Sweet fark all traffic, brilliant roads and countryside !
You will have to contend with the odd sheep, but i know ya wont treat it as a race track lol

[Viscount Montgomery]

Yep the akatarawa road would be a bad choice for any naive young-ass squids/jaffas etc.. Just imagine a squid tryin' to race the akatarawas, ha! It's a skinny, skinny, tight, tight, sealed goat-track with hooning, dope-smoking, stereo-thumping cager punks liable to appear around any bend at a great rate of knots at any time. Speed will definitely kill...

[R6_kid]

If Dannevirke is yr destination, leaving wellington ! Then might i suggest having a look through the back of the wiararapa !

Cheers for the suggestion, you obviously put a bit of effort into that post!!!

Unfortunately(!) I'm staying the night in Paraparaumu, so even doing Akatarawa Road and Rimutaka Road ended up adding nearly 2hrs to the trip instead of just heading North and putting up with the boredom for a little bit.

I've now got a route figured out, which according to GoogleMaps will have me taking 6hrs worth of riding to get to Taupo. Add to that stopping in Dannevirke for a late breakfast, then heading to Fielding to catchup with family for lunch, and I should be arriving into Taupo just on sunset - and that's without accounting for potentially crap weather, in which case I might have to go the easy way home!

[crazyhorse]

I've done that road about 5 years ago - was real hard on the wrists. Challenging too! Have fun doing it :niceone:

[sinfull]

Unfortunately(!) I'm staying the night in Paraparaumu, so even doing Akatarawa Road and Rimutaka Road ended up adding nearly 2hrs to the trip instead of just heading North and putting up with the boredom for a little bit.

!
Sweet, yeah if your heading for taupo on that ride it would add considerable time heading to the Rapa haha
(my two cents worth re the Akatarawa's, i love it ! It may be a goat track with heaps of 1st gear corners but you'll know ya done it and wanna do it again)
If ya check the second map and find Eketahuna then scroll up to Pahiatua, you will find the Pahiatua track, trace it across and then track it down till levin (20 min north of Paraparam) will give you another option

Pahiatua track and accross to ballance (north side of the manawatu gorge)will only add 10-20 min to ya trek to Dannevirke and give ya a break from the SH

[R6_kid]

Pahiatua Track was going to be my next question! Saw it on the map and thought it looked like a nice little detour.


Yep the akatarawa road would be a bad choice for any naive young-ass squids/jaffas etc.. Just imagine a squid tryin' to race the akatarawas, ha! It's a skinny, skinny, tight, tight, sealed goat-track with hooning, dope-smoking, stereo-thumping cager punks liable to appear around any bend at a great rate of knots at any time. Speed will definitely kill...

Sounds like some of the ATNR roads, just much longer.

[Beemer]

I remember seeing a sign at Waikanae that read "Upper Hutt" and figured it was a short cut. Never been so petrified in all my life! I was in a car and it was a Friday afternoon so everyone was heading home and you'd meet the locals driving down the centre of the road!

We came over that way recently in the car and I was almost car sick - and I used to co-drive in a rally car so that says something. It's much more pleasant on a bike, but as people have said, the recent weather would mean there is probably a lot of debris on the road. The Pahiatua Track would be far more enjoyable, that's for sure.

A truckie got directed over the road from the Upper Hutt end by his GPS unit recently. Needless to say, he got stuck!

[Str8 Jacket]

(my two cents worth re the Akatarawa's, i love it ! It may be a goat track with heaps of 1st gear corners but you'll know ya done it and wanna do it again)


Yeah, what he said (he's fast for an old guy). I haven't even done it yet but if you take it real slow at least then you'll know what it's like yourself! ;)

[Laxi]

Yeah, what he said (he's fast for an old guy). I haven't even done it yet but if you take it real slow at least then you'll know what it's like yourself! ;)

my favourite road bar none, by the end of the week the locals should have cleared the crap off the road anyway

[Str8 Jacket]

my favourite road bar none, by the end of the week the locals should have cleared the crap off the road anyway

I always wanted to take my old A100 over it... Sounds like a bit of fun on the RG :devil2:

[Laxi]

I usually take that way home if the wncr ends up at gordys, it's probably a perfect road for a smoker actually

[crash99]

You must be more keen than I am Laxi - I reckon it sucks. Too tight (for a road) and too many crazies. Each to their own tho, so good on ya!:mellow:

[Laxi]

mate! try it on a warm summer night! sticky road, sticky tyres and can see traffic coming a mile away! twissties are what keeps me off a harley:laugh:

[mctshirt]

Between Paraparaumu and Upper Hutt - what sort of condition is this road in at the moment?

Goat track - always has been, always will be. You'll be praying for straight road by the end...take a mate and stick him up front to clear the road

[cowboyz]

Pahiatua Track was going to be my next question! Saw it on the map and thought it looked like a nice little detour.



Sounds like some of the ATNR roads, just much longer.

meh for the akatawas.... done it a couple of times. its ok. but yeah. too dodgey to get any real flow going.
Come anywhere near the manawatu and the pahiatua track is a must. Awesome piece of road. And then if you got time head out apiti loop. Will end you up in mangaweka and is really nice piece of road.

[Lurch]

:woohoo: lots of you guys are soft, Akatarawa road is where I learnt to ride my old RG150. It's an obstacle course for sure but you never finish it thinking - that was a boring ride!

[Owl]

It'd be fantastic if all traffic was going one way. I won't go there again.:no:

Take Sinfull's route!:yes:

[Pedrostt500]

Aka Road is a great ride, always enjoy it, ya just got to keep in mind traffic comming the other way, so it aint a time trial road, but a fun ride non the less.

[pritch]

As someone else said the Akatarawa Road is great on a dirt/duel purpose bike.
I loved it on my RT360, hated it on my VFR. Didn't like all the 4WD drivers rubber necking at the scenery either...

When I first went over the Pahiatua track it was a one way metal road. That was OK though, I was driving an Army truck. Sadly it has since been "improved" to the stage that it's a nice wide two lane sealed road. Fortunately the raw material was so good that it's still a very nice ride.

[R6_kid]

What about Paekok Hill instead of SH1 on the way to Paraparaumu? I've done that as a passenger in a car back in 2007 :sweatdrop

[Str8 Jacket]

What about Paekok Hill instead of SH1 on the way to Paraparaumu? I've done that as a passenger in a car back in 2007 :sweatdrop

Quite a bit better than the Aka's but you still have to have your wits about you with cars crossing the centre line, rocks in the road, tar snakes and most importantly our favourite fans the coppers! Its a fun road do it. At the end of the day they are both *only* roads. You can just take it slower and enjoy... ;)

[chanceyy]

aka's were in good nick when Sugi took me over them several weeks ago on my bike, yes its narrow, yes care is definitely needed but the road rocked !!

Paekakareki hill rocks but watch the tar snakes if its wet :yes:

[R6_kid]

You can just take it slower and enjoy... ;)

That is the plan! Guess I'll take the hill road then :yes:

Fingers crossed for two days of nice weather!

[nico]

Between Paraparaumu and Upper Hutt - what sort of condition is this road in at the moment?



shit on the upper hutt side not to bad on wikanie side, lots of shit (litliarty)

[Madness]

That is the plan! Guess I'll take the hill road then :yes:


It's not very long so maybe you should turn back at the end and do it again.

[R6_kid]

It's not very long so maybe you should turn back at the end and do it again.

Haha, I will have dinner waiting for me in Parparaumu, and another two days of 'long' twistie roads to enjoy the bike whilst demolishing the tyres. Unfortunately it looks like it's going to be an exercise in time management, so I'll have to keep my wits about me to make sure that I don't get involved in any voluntary taxation or flybuys accrual.

[Madness]

Haha, I will have dinner waiting for me in Parparaumu, and another two days of 'long' twistie roads to enjoy the bike whilst demolishing the tyres. Unfortunately it looks like it's going to be an exercise in time management, so I'll have to keep my wits about me to make sure that I don't get involved in any voluntary taxation or flybuys accrual.

Mind the po-po on the southern side of the Piecock Hill too then, hiding in the layby near the golf course on sunny days.

[BMWST?]

The akatarawas will be ok as long as you treat it carefully.It will be the narrowest road you will ride on.It has some first gear hairpins you cant see round.Just treat every corner as though there is a 4wd with Bull bars coming the other way(which there may well be).The ONLY road i can think that is similar to the akas is the grove road in the sounds(picton to havelock).Google street view goes through the aka's
The 4wd with Bull bars will block the road completely in some places.There is prolly about 15 km of the really narrow stuff

[Clivoris]

What about Paekok Hill instead of SH1 on the way to Paraparaumu? I've done that as a passenger in a car back in 2007 :sweatdrop

Like str8 said mate. It's a potential killer. Was up there on Saturday and twice came around a corner to find a car/suv with all 4 wheels on my side of the road. If I had been giving it stick I would be fucked up now. I ended up chasing one and pulling him over. I eventually got an acknowledgement that he was being "unsafe" and he tendered an apology which I accepted.
Great road but.