Best drives in New Zealand

Best drives in New Zealand

My favourites drives in New Zealand

Driving in New Zealand is like being on an incredible ride. There are no other words to describe the experience. At least if you are a tourist and do not have to get from point A to point B in a hurry, and if you enjoy driving! Every ten minutes I would kick myself for not being on my motorbike.

Now you have to be used to, or like, driving on single lane roads that more often than not just keep on turning and turning again. There are hardly no dual carriage ways except around Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. And to be fair there are significant portions of just plain straight boring roads. But that is not the norm.
Out of all the roads here are my favourites:

Desert Road

From the playgrounds of the New Zealand army at Waiouru, to incredible views of Mount Tongariro, Mount Ngauruhoe, and Mount Ruapehu, you are never bored on this road, especially if you are driving around sunset and twilight, the light is just incredible.

Slope Point Road

Slope Point Road is not really a road but a 13km gravel road and a 20 minute walk. And it is really worth it!

Forgotten World Highway

State Highway 43 is ranked as one of the 10 worst roads in New Zealand by the Police. 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.
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. Do not let that statistic scare you, it is a fantastic drive, well worth taking, as long as you take it slow!

Queen Charlotte Sound Drive

This road runs from Havelock to Picton and it is 40km of twists and turns. No straight lines seen here!

And for my favourite drive in New Zealand for the pure pleasure of driving:

Takaka Hill, State Highway 60

I cannot wait to come back and ride it on my motorbike!