Our plan today was to drive "The Forgotten World Highway" if we had nice weather. We didn't, if fact it was downright nasty. It was raining when we got up and it rained, and rained hard, for the entire day. There was no point is trying to drive, sight see or take pictures. So we hunkered down for the day. Did a little reading, watched a movie and just generally relaxed and enjoyed the day.
Day 154, March 3, 2011 was different, the sun was shining, there were no clouds and fact it was quite hot. As a result we were able to get our first look at Mount Taranaki.
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| Mount Taranaki |
Mount Taranaki sits right in the middle of the Taranaki District and is a utopia for skiers, snowboarders and trampers. It also has one other claim to fame. It looks very similar to Mount Fuji in Japan (when it has snow on it) and is used as a phony Fuji backdrop in some films. The one that first comes to mind is “The Last Samurai" with Tom Cruise.
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| Mount Fuji |
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| Mount Taranaki (with snow) |
Once we had packed up and had taken our pictures of Mount Taranaki we headed to downtown Stratford. The town is named after Shakespeare’s birthplace and most of its street names are from characters conjured up by the bard. The town is home to New Zealand's only glockenspiel that sits in the clock tower on the main street. Romeo and Juliet recite Shakespeare four times a day. We weren't prepared to wait for the next show so we took our pictures and moved on.
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| Stratford Main Street |
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| Stratford Main Street |
We left town via Hwy 43 which is the start of the "The Forgotten World Highway".
I am assuming the highway is named “The Forgotten World Highway” as it is the country’s oldest heritage trail and follows ancient Maori trade routes. This secluded drive moves us through the region’s pioneering past and follows an evolving landscape with stunning mountain backdrops and historic sites.
Our journey started when we left Statford but not before we were given a few warnings. We were told that parts of the highway were unpaved, there are no petrol stations on the 150 kilometer route and of course they reminded us to keep to the left side of the road. Undaunted we pushed ahead as we belong to the group of brave, daring and sometimes stupid.
The first part of the drive had us travelling through some very green farmland that was fairly rugged. We also drove past the Douglas Brick Kiln, now out of business, that was an integral part of the area's early existence.
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| Douglas Brick Kiln |
On the drive today we came to and drove over 4 natural saddles. The first was Strathmore Saddle which claimed to offer spectacular views of Mt. Taranaki to the west, and Tongariro, Ruapehu and Ngaurahoe to the east. However it was still a little hazy and only Mt. Taranaki could be seen. It was still stunning.
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| Mount Taranaki |
The second and third saddles were Pohokura Saddle and Whangamomona Saddle. Pokokura provided us with a view of the valley that was used as a large railway construction campsite in the early 20th century. Whangamomona gave us a look of a beech and Podocarp Forest.
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| View from Pohokura |
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| View from Pohokura |
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| View from Whangamomona |
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| View from Whangamomona |
Shortly after leaving Whangamomona Saddle we came to the highlight of the day when we entered "The Republic of Whangamomona"
Whangamomona lies in the heart of Forgotten World Highway which makes them one of the most remote towns in the north island. It is so remote that in 1989 the town’s folk declared themselves a Republic. There are two versions of a story as to how the decision came to be made. One is that the powers to be were going to move them from Taranaki District to Manawatu-Wanganui District without any input from the good folks of Whangamomona. This would have increased their tax base. The second reason and the one I like the best is that the change to another district would have switched their Rugby allegiances. This was just not acceptable.
So in 1989 the declaration was made and they became a Republic. Republic celebrations are held every second year attracting over 6000 people who get involved with activities ranging from sheep racing and gumboot throwing to whip cracking and possum skinning. A highlight is the electing of a new president. Past presidents include Billy the Goat who purportedly ate his opposition's votes and Tai Poutu the poodle who had to retire after an assassination scare.
It was about six years ago that they went away from animal presidents and elected their first human president. This year’s president is Murt Kennard and we were lucky enough to be granted an audience.
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| Kathy & President Murt Kennard |
He couldn't chat for very long as he had to go back to work. Presidenting is very hard. We wanted to look around the town but before we could do that we had to report to the passport office to get our passports stamped.
Once we had our passports stamped we were free to walk around and enjoy the town. Though the town is small there is an aura of pride within the community. The main street is very clean and the older buildings have been well preserved. We quite enjoyed our stay in "The Republic of Whangamomona"
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| Hotel & Passport Office |
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| Post Office |
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| Butcher's Shop |
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| Baker's Shop |
The rest of the day was spent just enjoying the sights. We had one more saddle to cross and that was Tahora Saddle. In looking east from here you could see the three mountains, Tongariro, Ruapehu and Ngaurahoe. It was still a little hazy but you can make them out. The other views from here were also pretty spectacular.
We passed through two tunnels on our journey. One we had to detour slightly to see and the second was on the main highway. What surprised me was that the tunnel on the main road had no side supports. There was ceiling supports but they were made of wood. Your first feeling is one of holy crap are you kidding me, we just drove through there. Then you realize they have been there for a hundred years.
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| A tight squeeze |
We did manage to get a little exercise during our journey today. We detoured off the highway for 16 kilometers to take in the Mount Damper Falls. Once we reached the parking lot we had about a 20 minute walk to the falls. Most of it downhill. Guess what is was on the way back out. The walk in was across a farmer’s field before picking up the trail through the bush.
The falls were 74 meters high and spectacular.
We had one more quick stop before completing our day. Nevin's lookout offered us a panoramic view of central North Island.
It wasn't long after Nevin's Lookout that we came to the end of the "The Forgotten World Highway" and found ourselves in Taumarunui.
It was a great day and we enjoyed it immensely. We were pretty tired so we found a nearby campsite, checked in and called it a night.
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