Pomarangai Road is your typical windy, single lane road, edged on either side by bush, steep banks or large dropoffs. Like any country road in New Zealand Pomarangai Road carries a 100km/h speed limit however due to the windy nature of this road anything more than ~40km/h is impossible.
Pomarangai Road is quite well maintained and has quite a good solid base but it does have loose surface layer of gravel on top of that, caution is required as most corners are blind and any oncoming vehicle takes up the entire road, as I found out when confronted with a car coming the opposite direction leaving me no where to go. Thats why I have rated this Intermediate for riders on small and large bikes below, the surface would be fine for learners but the many blind corners and no run off on most of them isn’t.
If you travel this road enjoy it for what it is, a great gentle twisty cruise through some stunning back country farm land with great views at the top.
Contributed by: @eddieb
Track type: Gravel Road
Track composition: Bumpy, Loose, Undulating
Slippery when wet?: No
Suitable for bikes <650cc? Intermediate
Suitable for bikes >650cc? Intermediate
River crossings? No
Went through here for the second time the other day, this time heading West to East. Road is in really good condition. It’s twisty, interesting and passes through some lovely country, with the occasional panoramic view back toward Kawhia or Waitomo area – really good road, and a great way to link up Raglan>Kawhia>Te Anga>Marakopa and end up in Piopio. Could make a great day loop by starting at Pirongia, head west toward Oparau roadhouse, turn left and head south to Kinohaku, turn right go over Whakapirau road toward Taharoa, go through Taharoa and check out the massive black sand mining operation on the west coast, then come back through Taharoa, head to Te Anga, turn right for Marakopa, then go left up the hill and head south on the gravel, on Mangatoa rd, turning right out to Waikawau. at the end of road in Waikawau there is a tunnel under the limestone cliff out to a ‘secret’ west coast beach (ride through the tunnel is possible). after a ride on the beach double back to Mangatoa rd, turn right and carry on south to Awakino for fuel and a beer, then head north on main highway 3, to Piopio, then take Mangaotaki road, onto Waitanguru road to join up to POMERANGAI Road, back through to Marakopa and on to Te Anga, turn right and go past Natural Bridge, end up in Waitomo, then take old waitomo valley road to SH39 and back to Pirongia.
So when are you organising the ride Grant?
I’ve done it already. I was part of a group of 8 who did a variation of this route a couple months back, was a great weekend. (we overnighted in Awakino, and included a loop of Kiwi road as well)
If anyone is planning on coming from afar and doing this Pomerangi road loop, 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
It sounds like you need to post your rides up here https://www.adventureridingnz.co.nz/forums/topic/waikato-ride-outs/ beforehand and/or stick them in the calendar for other riders to find out about.
Went thru recently to meet the digger on a blind corner, a lot of repair work going on due to slips and subsidence. several patches of fresh dumped sharp course stones, makes for fun riding.
Went through the road east to west on Friday 19th, lovely condition only two cars coming other way, thankfully at a reasonable speed.
We did it Saturday from Awakino to Otorohanga. Saw one car while we were stopped for a breather. Then turned round at Otorhanga and did it again the other way. Lots of riders around and several on Pomerangi. Great road.
Great road to ride – I usually ride up, but for a change i rode down on Saturday. the road is in great condition – really need to take care though there is not alot of room when there is on coming traffic – i met a mini camper on a tight bend coming up the hill and clearly they were of the opinion that the road was theirs because they were all the way right – only just managed to squeeze between him and the bank.
https://youtu.be/BIYgM9Zji9U
https://youtu.be/cZAyW-1cK38