New Zealand State Highway 43

State Highway 43

Forgotten World Highway

Route information

Maintained by New Zealand Transport Agency

Length:

148 km (92 mi)

Major junctions

West end:

SH 3 at Stratford

East end:

SH 4 at Taumarunui

Location

Primary
destinations:

Whangamomona, Ohura

Highway system

New Zealand state highways

←

SH 41

SH 44

→

Moki Tunnel on SH43

Route Description

New Zealand State Highway 43, also called the Forgotten World Highway, is a road that runs 148 km from Stratford in Taranaki to Taumarunui in the King Country. The road has a lot of interesting small towns on it including, Toko, Douglas, Te Wera, Pohukura, Strathmore, Whangamomona, Marco, Koruatahi, Tahora, Tatu and 10 km off the highway is Ohura. Driving the road takes up to 3 hours.

The highway goes through some rugged, beautiful countryside. It climbs three saddles, including the Strathmore Saddle, the Whangamomona Saddle and the Tahora Saddle. 14 km past Whangamomona is the Moki Tunnel, also known as Hobbit's Hole. Just before the Moki Tunnel is the turn off for the Mount Damper Falls, the 4th highest in the north island. In the 1920s the Stratford–Okahukura Line was built. Many of the ghost towns are from the railway days. Past Hobbit's Hole is the Tangarakau Gorge with walls just under 200 ft high. The road in the gorge is not sealed.

Pre-1991 Route

State Highway 43 used to end on SH 40 at Ohura, before SH 40 was revoked in 1991 and SH 43 rerouted to Taumarunui.

Dangers

State Highway 43 has been ranked as one of the 10 worst roads in New Zealand by the Police.^[1] This bad record is because of the slippery gravel surface in the Tangarakau Gorge, however this is not scheduled to be sealed because of the low traffic volume.

Culture

The road runs through the Republic of Whangamomona, a locality that declared itself a republic in 1989 after a revision in district boundaries forced it out of Taranaki.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to State Highway 43 (New Zealand).

↑ "SH43 among worst 10 roads for crashes". Taranaki Daily News (Fairfax NZ News). 27 March 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.

New Zealand state highways

List of New Zealand state highways List of unused highways in New Zealand List of motorways and expressways in New Zealand

National	SH 1 (incl. SH 1B, SH 1D) SH 2 (incl. SH 2B) SH 3 (incl. SH 3A) SH 4 SH 5 SH 6 (incl. SH 6A) SH 7 (incl. SH 7A) SH 8 (incl. SH 8A, SH 8B)

North Island	SH 10 SH 11 SH 12 SH 14 SH 15A SH 16 SH 18 SH 20 (incl. SH 20A, SH 20B) SH 21 SH 22 SH 23 SH 24 SH 25 (incl. SH 25A) SH 26 SH 27 SH 28 SH 29 (incl. SH 29A) SH 30 (incl. SH 30A) SH 31 SH 32 SH 33 SH 34 SH 35 SH 36 SH 37 SH 38 SH 39 SH 41 SH 43 SH 44 SH 45 SH 46 SH 47 SH 48 SH 49 SH 50 (incl. SH 50A) SH 53 SH 54 SH 56 SH 57 SH 58

South Island	SH 60 SH 62 SH 63 SH 65 SH 67 (incl. SH 67A) SH 69 SH 71 SH 73 SH 74 (incl. SH 74A) SH 75 SH 76 SH 77 SH 78 SH 79 SH 80 SH 82 SH 83 SH 84 SH 85 SH 86 SH 87 SH 88 SH 90 SH 93 SH 94 SH 95 SH 96 SH 97 SH 98 SH 99

Former state highways	SH 1A SH 2A SH 15 SH 17 SH 36 SH 40 SH 47A SH 49A SH 52 SH 57A SH 61 SH 70 SH 72 SH 73A SH 89 SH 91 SH 92

Touring routes	Twin Coast Discovery Highway Thermal Explorer Highway Pacific Coast Highway Classic New Zealand Wine Trail Alpine Pacific Triangle Great Alpine Highway Foothills Scenic Route Southern Scenic Route

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