Kaiikanui Road starts near the eastern end of Pigs Head Road (also gravel but not particularly interesting) close to the intersection with Whananaki North Road.
It climbs alongside the Kaiikanui stream through native bush becoming quite steep. There is a short, straight section at the top of the hill then more scenic outlooks over inland farms. At the turnoff to Mimiwhangata the road changes name to Webb Road and runs down to Helena Bay.
Some of the switchback corners could be tight on a big bike if the rider is not experienced at these.
Contributed by: @oldbeer
Track type: Gravel Road
Track composition: Smooth, Loose, Undulating
Slippery when wet?: No
Suitable for bikes <650cc? Beginner
Suitable for bikes >650cc? Intermediate
River crossings? No
I did Kaimango / Hauturu roads last easter. It was fantastic, light rain, bush right up to the road edge, no houses (in places), no other soul around. It was like time had stopped.
i went for a look out towards Kawhia on the weekend and went down Kaimango Road which is off the Kawhia road about 10 km past the kawhia road-Ngutunui Road junction on the left hand side. Kaimango Road goes all the way through to Harbour Road but about half way through i turned left onto Hauturu Road and went all the way through to Waitomo on that road. the road surface is good all the way through both roads but it does start to get more interesting when you get towards the southern end of Hauturu road as it narrows down and gets very windy. there is some beautiful scenery on the way and it was an enjoyable ride. it took about 2 hours to get all the way from Kawhia Road to Waitomo so its not a short ride on the gravel. the road itself was in good repair and there were some good fast sections where i managed 100kph but most of it is comfortable at around 50-70kph. my gps is not behaving at the moment so i cant up load any track data.
It’s good riding around there isn’t it. We have Kaimango and Hauturu roads on the site.
If anyone is planning on coming from afar and riding this road, or spending any time exploring the excellent gravel roads in vacinity of Pirongia Forest Park, Kawhia, Raglan, South Waikato etc then Pirongia village is a great place to base yourselves – I can recommend the Alexandra Hotel, Pirongia village. under new management for a while now and has been treated to a fantastic refurbishment. has rooms available from only $50 – has a great bar, restaurant and beer garden next door, and is very biker friendly. Alexandra Hotel Pirongia, 07 871 9838 or email owners Tony and Julie on alexandra_hotel@hotmail.com