Monday, March 9, 2009

South to the Forgotten Highway

Sunday 08 March -Mainly sunny with a few showers 20C. Drove 350km

Once again, we had a early start and eggs and bacon, I could get used to this! The car packed, we found some major roads to take us south, quickly heading generally towards Taumarunui.

We had to cover 'old ground' as we left Raglan as the idea of gravel roads didn't appeal so much today. We did take a slight diversion to go through Hamilton before joining the SH3 south. We had read a bit about a 'Kiwi House' in Otorohanga, so decided to go and visit. It was more than just Kiwis and was more like a bird park. In a darkened enclosure, we got to see two sorts of Kiwi rooting around in the undergrowth with a Morepork, a type of owl named for its call, flying around as well. Kiwis and Moreporks are nocturnal, so this is probably the only way we would be able to see these iconic birds.

The remainder of the park was full of birds, a vast majority introduced into the country in the last couple of hundred years. It is strange to think that until Europeans arrived, there were no mammals in New Zealand (with the exception of bats) and most of the birds were flightless ground living birds. Once settlers had introduced dogs, cats, stoats, ferrets and rats, the flightless birds were decimated and in some cases, such as the Moa, hunted to extinction.

One bird that we seem to see everywhere is the Pukeko, a strange looking blue and red bird the size of a chicken. Sadly, they are often by the side of busy roads with the obvious consequences.

Back on the road we passed the town of Te Kuiti and shortly turned off onto the SH4 to Taumarunui. We had contemplated staying here, but a walk around the town convinced us otherwise and we only stopped for lunch at an excellent cafe called Flax.

Our route south on the SH43 is also known as the Forgotten Highway, or is some books the Lost World Highway. Either way it is easy to see why it was named. The road goes into the some very remote areas, some of the last to be settled by incomers. The part of the journey down through the Tangarakau gorge is spectacular and beautiful, and is an unsurfaced road! In the middle of nowhere, we came across Joshua Morgans grave. He was a surveyor who fell sick with peritonitis and by the time help arrived, he was dead and buried where he died. He was responsible for the driving a route through the gorge and mountains for settler to use. Not long after this, the road passes through a single lane, unlit, rough stone tunnel, known at the Moki tunnel. Some way has put a sign up over the entrance saying 'Hobbit Hole'.

Once out of the gorge the road climbs over several saddles, or passes in amongst the wild hills. One odd place on the road is the 'Republic' of Whangamomona, a small town that declared independance after being moved from one district of NZ to another. It is possible to buy a local passport to assure safe passage through the area! The road is truly amazing and the the terrain that the road builders had to contend with is difficult to say the least. There are many signboards along the roadside describing their efforts and the lives of the settlers who moved there.

Finally, the small town of Stratford appeared graced by its mock Elizabethan clock tower in the middle of town. From here it was just a short journey down to the coast at New Plymouth where we discovered the Amber Court Motel.

Motel rooms in NZ are amazing, very comfortable, clean and very well equipped, usually with kitchens. They are highly recommended.

The call of Texas took us to dinner in town at a restaurant called the 'Lone Star', one of a chain in NZ. Should I ever visit one again, I need to be reminded not to eat for a few days prior to the visit as portions are gargantuan. The place was absolutely heaving, but the atmosphere was one of people out to enjoy themselves, and get absolutely stuffed!

No comments:

Post a Comment