The loose plan was to head up from Ashhurst and follow the road that skirts the foothills of the Ruahine Ranges to the top of the Pohangina Valley before taking on a couple of loop roads around Apiti then follow Ridge Road back from Apiti to drop back down into the Pohangina Valley near Ashhurst.

Our first road was appropriately named No 1 Road, which started off sealed before turning to well-maintained gravel with a few corrugations.

Returning to the main Manawatu Scenic Route we carried on to Takapari Rd (of which more anon) then Pipariki Rd.

Returning again to the Manawatu Scenic Route we headed to the top of the valley and took Umutoi North Rd. Reaching an intersection, Umutoi North Rd was marked as no exit and Tunipo Rd took us back to the Scenic Route.

Feeling refreshed and more relaxed we continued on Tunipo Rd, finding it to be a little used road winding through the hills. With the leaves turning on some trees it was very scenic and photogenic part of the trip.

One of the potential highlights of this drive was the glow worm caves I had seen marked on the map.
 
To read the full story in the August 2015 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (on sale July 20) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.