The Forgotten World Highway - Stratford to Taumarunui New Zealand Part 1 - 27 December 2024

Lance has been eager to take this trip for a few years, and we finally got to do it! The actual Forgotten Highway is a road that runs 148 km from Stratford in Taranaki to Taumarunui in the King Country. It is a rugged and very scenic route on State Highway 43 and is a three hour drive. We chose to take an alternative route on alternative transport that would take us through 24 hand-cut tunnels, across its 90-plus hand-built bridges that wend through some beautiful New Zealand farmland and bush. To break up the two-day journey was a stay at the iconic Whangamōmona Hotel.

There was a choice on where to start the journey, closer to Auckland in Taumarunui or further afield in Stratford. The dates lined up for us to take the Stratford option in Taranaki as our starting point and a bonus meant that we could catch up with family in New Plymouth and Stratford. Overnighting in New Plymouth we found that most places had no vacancy and our late booking found us at the 299 Devon West Motel on Devon West Street. It was adequate and clean, but it did have an overpowering carpet cleaner smell which made me choose to keep something on my feet at all times. Who knows what they had recently cleaned up? It also had a very '70s vibe and intermittent wifi, apparently because it was a windy day! And... that she had upgraded our room to a bigger one, we could have the run of the room but please only use one bed.

The following night we found that the Amity Court Motel in Stratford was a much better choice. Modern, clean, and a large bed that rivaled the previous night's 'roll together' mattress. Forgotten World Tours picked us up and we headed off to the tracks which were off the beaten track!

Our guide, Jo, welcomed us and explained that no other guests were joining us in Stratford and there would only be herself and the two other staff members Celina and Tiana. They said this was unusual and the next day we would pick up ten guests at the Whangmōmona Hotel. After a quick safety briefing and driving instructions on how to use the accelerator pedal, and we hit the tracks! The trip from Stratford is mainly dairy farms, and we wended our way through green pastures with herds of cows stopping their grazing to stare as we chugged by. We had six carts in our procession as Jo and Tiana were towing some to return them to Taumarunui. We were cart number five and Celina brought up the rear checking that we were doing okay.

In 1901 they began building the 142-kilometer Stratford-Okahukura railway, taking 32 years to complete. It was in service for around 70 years before Kiwi Rail 'mothballed' it in 2009. Workers lived in camps along the line and earned less than $1 a day for their nine-hour shift. Now and then we encountered a road crossing, and the leader would signal to slow down and Lance would pass on the wave. Even though the cars had giveway signs we needed to approach with caution as these are country roads where people may not expect to find a series of golf carts in the middle of the road. It was at one of these crossings near the small rural settlement of Toko that we saw our car go flying by! We had paid extra to have someone drive our car to Taumarunui for when we arrived the following afternoon, and they passed us as we crossed the tracks and tooted at us! The other option was to get a Forgotten World shuttle back to where we started, but this would take us further away from Auckland, so car delivery was a much better option for us. Our first stop was at a place called Douglas. I really can't call it a town as these days there is not a lot there. But in its heyday, it was an overnight stopover for stockbrokers and commercial travelers.

Alongside an old Railway stop (can hardly call it a station) our guides spread out our morning tea. The biscuits were home made and the hot cuppa was very welcome. Amenities were close by and my toilet report is a favourable one. At almost every stop we encountered the cleanest 'long drop' toilets that I have ever experienced. Some with little glass infusers and jars filled with wildflowers. Back on the tracks we went, an easy way to travel. Well, I just had to sit there and Lance operated the speed with the foot pedal and occasional 'slowing down' signals. We had been instructed to keep a 50-metre distance between cars and more in wet conditions. A quick stop was made at Avonstour Island, which was not an island at all, but a rare breed farm owned by John Earney. He is quite a character and came out for a chat. The donkeys pictured are Ponui Donkeys from the island of Ponui in the Hauraki Gulf and are the only feral donkey breed in New Zealand. There were also some black chickens which were black from comb to talon and apparently on the inside as well! They are the Ayam cemani chicken and have some rare excessive black pigment that makes them black inside and out, anticipating your question, no their eggs are not black.

We had been warned that we could have four seasons in one day and to prepare with layers of clothing, a beanie, gloves, and a scarf. I did sort of scoff at the latter but we did take warm jackets, good old Swanndri, an iconic New Zealand brand of clothing. Our first tunnel gave us a hint of how cold we could get, and fortunately most were quite short and we emerged back into the sunshine before the chill could take hold. Whilst the sun was shining, there was a cool breeze as we motored along at 25 kph. So I did have a light jacket on, which was a blessing in the tunnels.

My phone lit the tunnel up for this photo, it was actually pretty dark in all of the tunnels and some of the tunnels were especially long, and the 'light at the end of the tunnel' was not in sight. As you can see in the photos, the track is quite overgrown despite regular maintenance. Many of the sprawling blackberry plants were reaching out across the tracks, and whilst none made contact we did many little jumping maneuvers to avoid getting scratched. At one point these cows decided to join us in a bit of a race! Lunch was enjoyed at Te Wera, which had once been a small settlement alongside the railway. Fresh bread was laid out with an assortment of fillings, corned beef, tomatoes, cheese lettuce, etc. with piccalilli and beetroot relish. Once we had filled our bellies and made a toilet stop in the pristine long drops we continued to enjoy the countryside which was beginning to lose the green paddocks and become more overgrown.

We had been warned that we would likely encounter a variety of stock, or wild goats on the track. The advice was not to stop just keep moving slowly. Apparently, if you stop they will just stand on the tracks and look at you. At one point we had a sheep running straight at us! Each time this happened Lance slowed right down and with bums squeezed tight we chugged along, relieved when the creature finally stopped or bolted through a fence.

At around 2:30 pm we approached the Republic of Whangamōmona. Stopping on the tracks we disembarked and said farewell to our guides, who would be picked up and driven to Taumarunui for the night while we overnighted in the Whangamōmona Hotel. And that is where I will leave you for today, as the republic of Whangamōmona is a story all to itself.