Well, I say revisited, but I merely passed through on September 3rd 2011 on my way from Ohakune to Stratford. I remember seeing the sign saying I was entering the Republic of Whangamomona, & decided then that I would return one day.
Today was the day.
I'd organised the car from AGL Rental Cars to arrive at 0930 at Ariki, & I was ready to roll when Greame arrived. He showed me where I could leave it without a time limit or paying, not far out as it happened, so I was sorted for my return from the mountain.
The green wheelie in the boot, II took the SH3 out of town at 1015, & my Gmap print shows I was scheduled to go from Inglewood to Stratford, & then left onto the SH43 ~ the Forgotten World Highway.
However, the road map showed there was a 'brown' road going east from the SH3 close to Inglewood, so I planned to use that instead & see some country.
My notes say I turned off the SH3 after about 25k, & I remember pulling over to ask some workmen on the road side whether or not the road I was planning to take connected with the road to Whangamomona. They said it did, & that I should take the Tarata Rd
TBH, I shouldn't've been surprised I ended up on gravel!
The day was overcast, & Taranaki was in cloud as I turned away from him in a meandering line east.
There was virtually no traffic, but the scenery was stunning.
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| Folded valleys & quiet roads |
My notes are a total mess, as I was writing on the go, but they do record that there was about 1K of tarmac as I passed through settlements, & the rest on gravel.
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| This shows the spot where I took the 1st pic You can just about make out the road through the bush |
The notes also say I saw some brown ducks as I went over the Waitara river, & Googling the route now, Gmaps shows I was Way into the hinterland.
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| Another pic of where I'd been |
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| This tractor was the only vehicle I saw for miles! I think he was on hedge trimming duties? |
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| Another view of folded hills & valleys |
My notes say that, apart from the tractor, I'd seen 2 cars & one bike going in the opposite direction, & one camper van going my way (it had pulled over, as they kindly do in NZ).
I went left onto the SH43, eventually driving over the Whangamomona Saddle where I stopped for a couple of pics.
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| The Whangamomona Saddle info board at 225m on theSH43 |
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| Looking towards the north |
So, I sent an E to Stratford District Council, & asked if they knew what it said. The very helpful Melanie replied, & this is what she told me:
I can confirm the Whangamomona Saddle Heritage sign says the following:
The altitude of this saddle is 270 metres above sea level, similar to those of Strathmore (275m), Pohokura (270m) and Tahora (275m) Saddles.
Whangamomona Saddle was a major challenge in getting roading further eastwards in the early 1880’s.
The original road from Stratford commenced in the 80’s with thick bush being cut along survey lines.
Up to 250 bushfellers were employed at one time, living in primitive tent accommodation and supplied by pack horses, which at times could not get to them because of the difficult conditions.
The packhorse was the key to the opening up of the east. At times five or six horses under the control of one man forged their way along the track, laden with goods for the bush camps of settlers.
The older horses seemed to get to know every deep hole in the road, but even so many were killed through getting bogged, falling into gorges or eating poisonous Wharanga (paper leaf).
The dray road finally crossed this saddle to reach Whangamomona and in 1897 Messer’s. Hewer and Thacker commenced a coach service between Whangamomona and Stratford twice a week both ways. This was an 8 hour 15 minute journey, with lunch at Strathmore.
Despite gradual roading improvements and some spreading of ‘Shell-rock’ and ‘Burnt Papa’, poor roading hampered development of the eastern districts.
In 1903 settlers near Strathmore even tipped visiting Prime Minister Dick Seddon into a deep muddy bog hole after a day-time banquet in his honour, to emphasise their disgruntlement.
The Courtland buggy he was in was allegedly driven by a person bribed to do this. Seddon, who knew some of the settlers, former gold-miners from his home town of Kumara in the Westland apparently took the point and funding for half a mile came the next summer.
The saddles on this trail eventually had permanent metal surfaces completed during 1920’s and 1930’s after the advent of the motor car.
A further major improvement was the upgrading and sealing of the Whangamomona Saddle commencing in 1981.
The adjacent walk through the Awahou Scenic Reserve features a variety of the natural bush cover of the district, including the distinctive black beech on the sandstone-topped ridges and spurs.
I hope this helps you and all the best with your blog J
Isn't that lovely :-D And interesting to see what trials peeps went through in those days. Cheers, Melanie
The Saddle was about 1/2 way between Pohokura & Whangamomona, & I think it was the 2nd highest point of my drive that day.
Back in the car, it wasn't long before I saw I was entering the little Republic.
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| Apparently, Whangamomona means the Valley of Plenty Well, I had plenty of food & the hotel ~ see below |
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| There were funny tufts of grass in parallel lines on the hillside around this farm building. I wondered why. |
On my way there, I'd noticed a rail line which the road had crossed a few times. Later I read an old poster in the hotel saying it had last been used in 2009, the year of my 1st NZ odyssey.
I reached the village at 1300 & was ready for lunch at the Whangamomona Hotel.
Having had a small brekkers & a fairly stressful drive on gravel in the middle of nowhere (!), I was ready for the Whanga Burger I ordered. Despite its size, & only managing 2/3 of it, I couldn't resist an ice cream sundae to finish me off ;-q
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| The Whanga burger & long black. My notes say it consisted of beef, bacon, egg, cheese, lettuce, tomato, carrot, onion & beetroot. I left the beetroot & doggie-bagged a 1/3 of it for later. |
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| My notes say it was the caramel & chocolate option! |
There was an old bloke sat near me, getting waited on by various members of staff. It turned out he was the great-granddad of Evan. My notes don't say who Evan was, but it was possibly the young bloke my notes say gave me a map to Damper Falls?
I had a wander about the ground floor & found a photo record of the Whangamomona rugby teams across the years. Even in this little village, they have enough guys to chuck a ball about :-)
My original Gmap print had me going east along the SH43 for a bit, before cutting NE via Ohura to connect with the SH4, & then circling back SW to New Plymouth along the SH3. Having got a local map (from Evan?), I now decided to take the Damper Falls road as it would cut out a Lot of driving.
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Before I left I took a photo of the retro general store.
Great name!
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Back on the road it became sheep country with a capital S, & it was ages before I could stop hearing 'Click, click, click' in my head.
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| After I took this I was singing the Rolf Harris Shearing Song in my head |
He'd had a Rolf Harris LP (remember vinyl?!), & I used to like playing it.
That was a long time ago: long before he got put away for being a naughty boy!
It's a good song, tho!
Australian Shearers - Song "Click Go The Shears" - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag8Yqvs8h54
2 Nov 2007 - Uploaded by mrtibbs6912
Australian Shearers the song "Click Go The Shears" is sung by Rolf Harris. |
| Wiggly hills by a wiggly road |
Driving NE-ish along the wiggly SH43, I was reminded again how the land in central SI looked a bit like a green concertina.
Or green egg-boxes?
I have to admit that the SH43 remains one of my favourite ever roads to drive.
I came upon another saddle: this time the Tahora at 283m.
There was a blue car taking pics as well.
Well, its occupants were ;-p, & like the grey car on the Lindis Pass Rd., we kept leap frogging each other when we stopped for photos.
As previously, I read the Info-Board & took a pic, with the idea I'd be able to read it back home & months later when I wrote the blog.
It was a cunning plan, Baldrick, but as I'm on a tiny screen & my eyes are over 60 yrs old, it turned out to be a bit duff.
Fortunately, the very kind Melanie at Stratford sent me this info all about it:
TAHORA SADDLE
This point is almost equidistant (70 kms in direct line) from the Central North Island Mountains of Tongariro (1968m altitude), Ngaruahoe (2290m), Ruapehu (2796m) and the symmetrical Mount Egmont (also named Taranaki – 2518m).
The mountains are a dominant feature of the heritage trail, and the subject of Maori legend.
Ngaruahoe and Ruapehu are regarded as active volcanoes, and steam can sometimes be seen whispering from Ngaruahoe.
Tongariro and Egmont (Taranaki) are dormant, Egmont's last recorded major activity was in the 18th Century.
The Electricity transmission lines in view are the smaller Stratford – Arapuni 110 kv. (built around 1930) and larger 220 kv. Stratford – Huntly line completed in 1987.
Dense virgin forest was felled and burnt for farmland mainly between 1895 and 1910. Government and private special settlements balloted blocks of land, most of which have been merging into larger units for viability ever since.
Many farms in East Taranaki had small dairy herds supplying cream until after World War II, when the advent of aerial topdressing and the Korean War Wool price boom of 1950 – 1951 led to the switch to dry stock.
Farming in this area today is almost exclusively sheep and beef cattle, with the more extensively farmed properties carrying up 15 stock units (sheep equivalent) per hectare throughout the year.
Because of the appalling mud roads in winter, the formation of papa beneath the topsoil were burnt in kilns into hard red blocks measuring 300mm x 150mm (see photo).
These unique kilns provided the burnt papa for spreading on the roads in the district up until around 1920. Some fragments still remain on the sides of the road.
The process of burning the papa in kilns fired with wood for two days was costly, however, and metal spreading gradually became an easier and cheaper option to improve roads.
The Tahora Saddle Road was sealed in 1989.
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| A view from the Tahora Saddle |
Shortly afterwards I drove through the Moki Tunnel, & pulled over at the far end for a couple of pics.
The cunning plan was to be able to read the info on these boards back home - as I did with the Moeraki Boulders ones back in 2011.
But this is a little screen & my eyes are several years older ! ! !
Happily, Melanie came up trumps yet again, & provided this info:
MOKI TUNNEL
The Moki Tunnel was the only one constructed of five that were originally proposed for the route to Stratford by Surveyor, Joshua Morgan, in the early 1890s prior to his death in the Tangarakau Gorge in 1893.
The road over the Moki Saddle in winter proved to be almost impassable – “It used to be a swine, as soon as it rained you got bogged in a car – everybody carried chains”.
The tunnel was constructed in 1935-1936 by the Public Works Department based in Stratford at the time, with Mr. Townley, the Engineer, and Mr. Birss, the Overseer.
A coal-fired, steam-driven compressor with two power jack-hammers was on site at the Western Tahora end. Coal was supplied from the mine in the Tangarakau Gorge and carted by Mr. Ron McCartie of Tahora. Later a diesel-powered air compressor was brought to the site.
The spoil from the tunnel was used to fill where the road presently runs, and was brought out by a horse and skip on rails from the tunnel to the tip face.
The tunnel was originally built to about 5 meters height, but to allow modern stock trucks and trailers to pass through was lowered a further two meters in 1985 by Colin Boyd of Inglewood Metal Supplies.
The old road over the saddle through the Tahora Scenic Reserve is readily accessible from the Western (Tahora) portal of the tunnel and provides a pleasant walk through the mainly Tawa – Kamahi dominant Forest, there are also areas of regenerating hardwoods beneath mature Manuka.
Thanks again Melanie. I hope you enjoy the finished article!
Shortly after the tunnel I left the Republic of Whangamomona, & the back of the sign said "Thank you and be happy".
Isn't that nice? :-)
Shortly after that was the turn onto Moki Rd & the way to the Damper Falls, so I went left.
I remember being surprised at the qualify of the tarmac & the condition of the road & verges: it reminded me of a road into a stately home, it was so pristine.
However, I've just googled & street-viewed the beginning, & it's not so neat. Maybe they'd just had a tidy that day, or it was further down than I went with street-view.
Moki Rd led onto Mangapapa Rd & eventually the car park for the falls. I parked, & considered whether or not to go for a shufti. The info board said it was a 20 min walk, so even if I had walked really fast & stayed for less than 5 minutes at the falls, it would have eaten into my 'driving home time', so I decided to keep Damper Falls for another day.
I left the blue car in the car park (its occupants had got out and walked Falls-wise), and carried on. At the corner where the car park was, Mangapapa Rd became Okau Rd, & I followed this for about 26K to Ahititi & SH3.
Once through Okau village a river appeared: it was the Tongaporutu, & meandered left & right across the road ~ which wiggled a bit through its valley, almost all the way to the main road.
I was to see the Tongaporutu again on my way back from Waitomo in March 2016.
Turning left onto the main road south at 1555, & ~ having done 155K so far, I followed the SH3 all the way back to the SH3/SH3A junction just north of New Plymouth.
On the way, I stopped for a coffee at a cafe just north of Urenui (It was 1620 & I'd done 183K), but they'd run out. How bizarre is that? I had an ice cream instead.
On the way south I passed a sign for horse trekking & took a note of the number, & passed a wood carving place & planned to visit before the car went back.
I like wood :-)
I like wood :-)
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| Awesome NZ humour :-D |
I also passed this sign.
I stopped & did a uey to get a photo!
Turning left onto the SH3A, I arrived back in Inglewood at 1705, & went into the supermarket for some grub for tea at the camp house. I had about 16K to go, & there was still no sign of Taranaki through the cloud cover.
When I got to the gate it was all locked up. As was the camp house.
The DOC info centre was closed as well, so I used the phone to find out what was going on.
It turned out Gary'd lost the DOC remit to let the camp house & forgotten to tell me, but he offered me a place in the EcoLodge hostel in New Plymouth instead.
I wasn't chuffed.
Not only did it mean I had another 30K to drive before tea & feet up, but also that I couldn't stay on the mountain again :-(
Boo hiss.
Gary said he'd call ahead to let them know I was coming, & to make sure I got a good room.
He also gave me reasonable directions, & I eventually arrived at 1845, having driven nearly 280K, a fair bit of which was on gravel roads, & most of it at less than 50kph.
Phew!
At the EcoLodge, I was welcomed by Christina from Exeter, & Peanut the ginger cat. Christina took me downstairs where I had a double bed & a room to myself.
Back in the communal area, I met Julian from Hannover, Daniel from Turin, Koichi from Sendai, someone else from near Brussels, & a male/female couple from Bavaria.
Julian was teaching Koichi English.
Granted, Julian's English was very good, but I'm afraid I put a spanner in the works by talking of the similar sounds & different meanings of lead, led & lead, the similar spellings & different sounds of rough, bough & tough, & showed them all the GHOTI conundrum.
Ask me if you've not heard of it.
I also said English was stupidly difficult with irregular verbs all over the place, weird pronunciation rules, & 6 past tenses.
All the Germans started asking questions about English, & I asked Ko about 'chotto matte'. He said it was a way to say 'Just a minute' or 'wait a moment'.
Thanks, Ko :-)
I read some more of another book I'd borrowed from Ariki, & stayed up stroking Peanuts & reading until gone 0100. Even when I eventually went to bed, I lay there doing sudoku for ages. I had no idea why I wasn't sleepy. I think it was nearly 3 before I put the light out?
OAO
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