This great little ride just out of Pongaroa takes you up past a lime works and offers some superb views both to the East and West. One of the best things about it is that there are four different routes to the start of the Hill climb:
- Ride the seal from Pahiatua on Pahiatua-Pongaroa Road but turn-off just before Makuri onto Coonoor Road (which quickly turns to gravel) and then turn up Towai Road to take you past the Lime works on the way to the summit.
- Or ride through Makuri and over the hill and then take Waihi Valley Road to the bottom of the Eastern end of Towai Road.
- Come north from Pongaroa or South from Weber on Route 52 and take the gravel of Horoeka and Waihi Valley Roads to the bottom of the Eastern end of Towai Road.
- Take the Weber road from Danniverke and turn-off onto Oporae Road which changes to Waihi Valley Road when the road also changes to gravel. You can then check out the Waihi Falls before turning right onto Towai Road.
- At the southern of of Towai Road a right turn takes you 500m to the eastern end of Makairo Track.
During the week I would guess that you may encounter truck traffic around the Lime works – probably only on the Coonoor side and there is often animals on the road – from rabbits to cattle beasts.
Be cautious in high winds – it gets seriously windy up there and you wouldn’t want to be blown over the bank…it also can be foggy in poor weather.
Contributed by: @bandit-rider
Track type: Gravel Road
Track composition: Bumpy, Loose, Undulating
Slippery when wet?: Yes
Suitable for bikes > 650cc Beginner
Suitable for bikes < 650cc Beginner
River crossings? No
It was a little slippery climbing up the Eastern side on Sunday. Not experienced the road like that before. The big bikes moved around a tad. Here’s what the bike looked like afterwards….