The Forgotten World Highway

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We set off from Taupo heading for New Plymouth by the most direct route on the map - the Forgotten World Highway! The canoeing had taken longer than we expected so ended up stopping for tea in a layby close to Lake Taupo where the boys did a retake of Monty Python and the Snake Stangler - budding film makers! If this had been a bit longer along our way we would have stopped for the night - but it wasn't.

We passed through Tamaranui and headed out on the 155Km to Stratford. The road was very pleasant going through great scenery alongside a river. A little way along there was a layby - but Garry made the decision that this wasn't scenic enough (and the guidebook said there were lots of places for campervans to park for the night!) so we carried on. The day drew to a close and the night got darker, the road became bendier then going through the Karangatui (?) Gorge we went round a corner to be greeted with the sign "gravel road" - this seemed to be single track! Hopefully we weren't going to meet another vehicle let alone a campervan and Garry said they'd better be good at reversing as he certainly wasn't!!!! The drive was nerve wracking, but at last we crossed another Indiana Jones style single lane bridge and saw the sign for a layby - I jumped out with a torch just to check that there wasn't any big dips that would cause us problems! We deserved our beer that night!

Next morning the boys wouldn't go to investigate the grave as it was too spooky!!! Garry took them later and it wasn't spooky at all. We set off on the brief bit of tarmac to discover that was just a courtesy - the gravel started again around the corner. 10Km later we were back on sealed highway - only to discover that we only just fitted through the Moki tunnel!!

What an awesome road, steep hills and sharp bends, falling away roads - very definitely a Forgotten highway! As the guidebook said all the locals waved at us - we think they were saying "Another mad tourist!"

At last we sighted Mount Taranki (snow clad) wreathed in thin cloud at the top before descending into Stratford (a place with lots of Shakespeare references but no reason!).

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Photos

View form Tea Stop
We would have stayed here but it was too close to Taupo

And then the road got worse...
It had been twisty up til now - then we went round a corner and it was gravel!

Michael crashed..
By the time we stopped Michael had given up on being awake - looked like he'd been dropped from a great height

Second layby campsite
Our second campsite was close to Joshua Morgan's grave - the boys thought that was a bit creepy!

The road was still bad in the daylight
We wondered whether the gravel was a figment of our sleep deprived imagination - but in the morning it was still gravel!

Moki Tunnel
Is this wide enough for a campervan? Only just - inches to spare narrowing towards the end!!

The end in sight
Only 10 miles to go - we made it!

Mount Taranaki
A lucky picture as it soon moved into cloud and stayed firmly hidden

Lunch in Prospero Square
Stratford has many references to Shakespeare - but no explanation as to why.