Cycle Route
TOP TIP – This trail provides access to two Central North Island Great Rides, the Timber Trail and Mountains to Sea, both accessible via other Heartland Rides, the Timber Trail Connection and MTS Connection.
BEST FOR: A traditional Kiwi way of life that has remained undisturbed for centuries.
TAUMARUNUI to NEW PLYMOUTH 2-3 days
180km
With a name as intriguing as the Forgotten World, how could you not be interested? Discover a pocket of Aotearoa that is little influenced by outside distractions and where remoteness is bathed in pristineness. MORE MOUNTAIN BIKING, PLEASE! • Cycle the mountain bike track along the Old Whangamomona Rd to the Bridge to Somewhere (sister bridge to the Bridge to Nowhere). • Lake Mangamāhoe Mountain Bike Park sits on the southern edge of New Plymouth with tracks ranging from easy to advanced. • Taranaki Cycle Park is a purpose-built bike complex featuring pump tracks, a skills area, learners’ pad, two off-road courses and a 333m velodrome.
D
on’t be fooled by the immediate seclusion; even though your route, the SH 43, feels like the quietest state highway in New Zealand, this trail is by no means a doddle. Constant hills with a total ascent of 2017m, rugged farmland and gravel roads will exhaust both your bike tyres – and your derrière! You’re in for a demanding Grade 4 challenge from beginning to end. Highlights along the way include historic tunnels, some with wooden gabled roofs and ceilings lined with fossilised shellfish; the remote township of Whangamomona which is its own republic (complete with passport stamp) as well as challenging saddles and a sense of total abandonment. Here you can fully detach yourself from the real world, and while you will be travelling mostly by road, keep an ear out for vehicles and an eye out for rambling goats!
Finally, the award-winning New Plymouth Coastal Walkway brings civilisation back into cognisance, forging a route into New Plymouth proper, but not before dazzling new arrivals with its epic surf and kinetic artwork.
59
HEARTLAND RIDE • FORGOTTEN WORLD HIGHWAY CYCLE ROUTE
FORGOTTEN WORLD HIGHWAY
Mangamāhoe © Rach Stewart
