A friendly and chatty couple walking and playing with their dogs on Te Horo Beach talked about the beauty of the road to Palmerstone North. And so my road discoveries led me to it. A flat tire got me delayed and I drove there by night. I found a nice clean camp site with showers and outdoor kitchen in Ashhurst Domain to spend the night. No one else at the camp. You can enjoy a nice walk in the domain, listen to the birds that have such beautiful and never heard before songs. The Tui birds make such delightful sounds and they also have two white ball like feathers in their front neck that make them look so beautiful if you can spot those shy birds. A real delight.
Only on the next morning could I see the wonderful sight of driving along that gorge. arriving so late at night made me miss the view.
Driving in the Manawatu-Wanganui region is filled with scenery of green hills covered in sheeps and cows, a few houses here and there, the occasional school, a rare field of cabbage. You better venture there with a full petrol tank and don't miss an opportunity to fill it up even if you can still drive on what's left in the tank, there aren't many occasions for that.
Because you are driving up hill and down hill, you do get in and out of clouds and rain very often, you also spot a lot of rainbows. There aren't many dedicated areas to stop, so be prepared to stop on the side of the road for lunch time.
You can stop and have a look at a mount which has the longest name in the world. A dedicated stop area exists for you to safely take a picture of the long sign that mentions it, as well as the explanation to the name.