A couple of weeks ago we took a drive to follow roads  our pioneers built in the 1920 to open up the hinter land and also to pass through eight tunnels in a day. We are not the  trail blazers many have been before and  Gary Fleming organised for Westown scout group, See more  about his journey at http://www.pukeariki.com/Research/TaranakiResearchCentre/TaranakiStories/TaranakiStory/id/672/title/taking-the-tunnel-tour.aspx

We set out early in the Sunday morning at 7.00 in our RAV with a couple of friends food and comfy seats to sit on for morning tea and lunch.
WE turned off SH3 at Okoki going up the Okoki Rd for a while and it wasn't long before the cameras come to record derelict cars and machinery littered along side the road by the local residents, old land rovers, excavators and farm implements.

 A nice sunny morning with the mist rising from the dewy grass gave a mystical view of the valley. The movie "The Last Samurai" was filmed nearby. Round the next corner was a gathering of the locals butchering a couple of beasts before it got too hot something us townies don,t see much of.

Soon we are off the tar seal onto the gravel road with the dust held down with the dew although this didn't last long in the warm February sun. Turning off Okoki Rd onto Kaka Rd soon brought us to our first tunnel  on Uruti Rd
 We all walked through it took photos and headed off to the next one is on Moki Rd still on gravel and just wide enough for a large truck  but not many places to pass.

Uriti tunnel



Uruti Tunnel







Moki Rd



 We stopped morning tea setting up our cahirs and table for added comfort .The bank behind us was about 30 meters straight down



Kiwi Rd



 

Okau Rd

Off the gravel for a short while as we drive down Okau Rd to the Okau Tunnel and cross a bridge over the Tongaparutu River quite a ling way below us and full of large logs.








We have to do a U turn here to continue the journey over Mt Damper. A stop  to walk twenty easy minutes to see the falls is a must as you may never get up this way again for a while.

Mt Damper falls

 The drive is easy and on tar seal for a while heading for the Moki tunnel and we missed the signs calling it the Hobbit hole ( may have been move to Hobiton near Matamata.)

Three old boilers, remnants of a timber milling operation many years earlier  imagine the task of getting these heavy items to where they are most probably pulled by horse or steam traction engines.
Moki Road is in two parts and joined by a track of the same name to be used by the fit walkers and mountain bikers

Moki Tunnel

A bit confusing here the Moki tunnel is on Highway 43 near Tahora. After passing through the tunnel we ventured off the main road at Tahora and found a small cemetery with mainly infants and under fives a testament to the hard life of the settlers in the 1920s There was an old lady buried there also I guess she was burried  there to look after the little ones.
We turn back up the road and head up a narrow gravel track to Tangarakau to find a tree to have lunch under. There is only a couple of cabins there on a camp site, see website  http://www.bushlands.co.nz  . In the age of steam railway there was a small village for servicing the railway line.

The line was used until a couple of years ago when  a derailment damaged a  large section of the line. It is now used for light weight golf carts for carrying tourists along the line. The buggies are waiting for passenger to head back to Douglas.
 See more on their blog  http://www.forgottenworldadventures.co.nz/blog/

Following lunch and being sent off by the sand flys we set off south toward Whangamomona and are being passed by lots of motor bikers and on our arrival there we find the street full of motor bikes and being a small world we bump into a few people we know.
The bikers are on the Ruapehu Chateau to Mt Taranaki Plateau fundraiser bike ride.
There was the obligatory stop  here to have a beer at the pub and have a look around.

 We set of again heading south and turn left at Strathmore head up  to the Makahu Tunnel. This one saved the locals half an hours travel and has had the floor lowered to allow tall stock trucks trough.

Makahu

 We had to do another u turn here again and head back to Strathmore and turn right  and head back where we came and turn left down Mohakau Rd then right over the railway line toward Matua, back on the gravel for a while after passing throught the Matua tunnel

Matua

Onward we go and  afternoon tea is ordered the last drops of hot water are extracted from the thermoses while we stop by the bridge a Purangi. I am yet to check on the history but for today there wasn't much to see.

Back in the RAV we head of for the last tunnel turning right at Tarata onto Otaraoa Rd and onto its tunnel there is a sharp turn into it  and a final stop to look back at where we had been.
As we passed down  Oataraoa Rd we passed McKee Oil production station and saw two drilling rig doing their stuff in Tikorangi.

Otaraoa Rd

A great day out was had by all Margie was apprehensive about surviving on winding road all day not being a good traveler  With the stops at the tunnels and meals the journey was quite relaxing.
 Wally and I took turns driving which allowed us turns at watching the scenery.


By the numbers we set off at seven travelled 300Kms and the journey took  in eleven hours and passed through eight tunnels.

Last stop was more fuel and the car wash to clean all the dust off and turn the RAV back in to a townie car again. The end.