The next day we were off on stage 2

The longer and more demanding part of the trip, we had been told.

Not many side roads here, and surprised to see a School Bus Route.
Some body lives out here!!!!









THE major intersection , still no traffic though.

The last saddle , Tahora.

 And then views of Ruapehu we are told.

And , Yes , around the next corner and there it was. The first photo is with tele lense.
The next shows the rugged land mass , The King Country, with Ruapehu over to the right.





Then the Moki Tunnel.

Built in 1936 and is 180metre long.
The floor was lowered in 1989 to allow Triple Deck stock trucks access through.

It feels very narrow and is really dark.

 Only one way bridges on this road.

A little further on we enter the Gorge , unaltered since the opening day , just beautiful.

 Yes it is narrow but the surface was quite good and still no traffic.

 A hilly section of the road had been sealed and a Patching gang were hard at work .
Or were they standing there looking at us ?

 A couple of corners later , more roadworks .
This time half the road had slipped into the river.

 Then its Good Bye Taranaki.

 Then we had our "Traffic Jam ".

One of our club members and a rental.
Happily we met on one of the widest parts of the road.
It was one and a half lanes wide - three wheel tracks in the metal surface.
We were travelling downhill and courtesy rules mean we pullover and stop and allow the vehicules going uphill to pass by.

 And down we went . Down out of the bush into a more sedate but still lumpy part of the trip.

 All along the way was outstanding rock formations . The sedimentary layers record the volcanic formation of the district.
Some of the layers were 4 to 5 metres thick and we were told they date back to the Great Taupo eruptions.

 Much thinner layers here but so many of them, each one created by its own little eruption.

We stopped to take this photo but the sun hides the layers that caught our eye.

It was a lucky stop.

We were at the site of one of the River Boat landings .

Paddle boats provided access for people, goods and stock.

So rich in history. It is not hard to be impressed with our pioneers.

Down the last hill and around the corner to Taumarunui.

We enjoyed every bit of the trip , no nervous moments , no frights.

Our 9m bus plus the towbehind at 14m overall had no problems.

Enjoyment plus.

WHANGAMOMONA

The town sign still stands and gives a hint of what is to come.

           The town lived up to the title - "Forgotten".

There was not many buildings left . Those that were all had a information board which provided a taste of the colourful history of the days gone by.

                              The Post Office , complete with family accomondation  at the rear is slowly rotting away.

One of the three Churches in the town. Still loved and looked after.

There was a surprise for us at the hotel. It was the only business still operating and had 12 patrons inside and 6 at a table on the veranda. They were motorhomers and we stopped for a chat. We had never met this group before but they were all Westies and one of the guys grew up in Archibald Road.

He in No 69 and me in No 12 - a small world indeed.

The decor suited the location just fine and us oldies felt right at home. There was 11 bedrooms an old world dining room and a good menu.  The lunches we saw being served were generously sized , we would have shared a serving and still struggled to finish it.

All the shops are long gone. Memories are on display though.

The original Hotel's kitchen had this massive coal range, two double door ovens and a warming shelf over, all the latest ,"Shacklock" of course.

Every building that is left has a "Heritage Trails"information board , heaps of history & information.

Electric buggies can be hired for a scenic trip along the old railway lines , heaps of fun .

A smaller version of the Grafton Bridge in Auckland is the road out of town.

We went for a look see up the only side road  and it only got narrower and the potholes got closer together.

One place was for sale , no asking price on display, make an offer would be very acceptable we think.

The church above has been abandoned for many years.











This one is still in use.

This facade represents the biggest business the town ever had.

This batten fence has a thick luscious growth of lichin . It needs a lot of damp weather to grow this well.

The board on the old hall says it all , from 1903 to 1965 , the rise and fall of a town , a community of family , friends and neighbours that somehow got left behind as the rest of the world hurried on.