The first New Zealand RTE was triumphantly held on 6 Dec 2014. We set out from Palmerston North and headed over to Wanganui for a quick break before starting up to the Central Plateau via the Parapara’s. This road is recognised as one of NZ’s best riding roads with its open sweeping curves through native forest and cliffs as it follows the Mangawhero River valley. It’s not such a fun trip on wet days (which we didn’t have) as the runoff from the cliffs tend to coat the road in slimy clay and occasional rocks.
The leg from the top of the Parapara’s past Raetihi to our lunch destination at Whakapapa ski village on Mount Ruapehu had clear views of the western side of the volcanoes all the way. The Bruce Rd which climbs Mt Ruapehu up to the ski village café is also a great ride as it sweeps up through the rock moon-scape on the higher slopes of the mountain. The café does a very good feed at a reasonable price and you certainly can’t beat the views!
The Central Plateau weather was playing the game for a change so we opted to continue on around the mountains up to Tokaanu and then south along the Desert Rd on the eastern side of the mountains. For those with more time on their hands than we had, Tokaanu offers some nice thermal pools to soak in but from past experience that makes the ride home a real sleep-at-the-handlebars experience!
South from the Desert Road the highway is pretty dull by comparison so we opted to turn off and return home via Vinegar Hill (so named after a bullock train some ages ago lost its load of vinegar barrels down the hillside). This road is also recognised as another of the North Island’s best. Again it is nice sweeping curves through native forest, farmland and a few cliffs thrown in for good measure.
All in all a great 500km day with the surprising bonus of no wind or rain the whole way.
