The Parapara Road - nearly 90 kms of beauty and bends.
The Parapara Road - nearly 90 kms of beauty and bends.
Its bends have made many people sick.
Or crash.
Or just ask 'are we there yet'?
But there is no denying it is one of the most beautiful and memorable - if torturous and unstable - stretches of road anywhere in New Zealand.
And on Saturday the town at one end of the Parapara road, Raetihi, is set to mark 100 years since the first vehicle ventured along the 86.7km of State Highway 4 between Whanganui and the Waimarino.
A convoy of vintage cars and a busload of passengers will leave Whanganui on Saturday morning for the festivities in Raetihi.
They will stop at Raukawa Falls YMCA camp for morning smoko and will reach Raetihi about 11am.
Vintage cars heading down the Parapara to mark anniversary of road.
Raetihi Promotions chairman Geoff Anderson said a guard of honour will be formed by vintage cars outside the Waimarino Museum. Mr Anderson will start the speeches at 11.30 am with Ruapehu mayor Don Cameron, and Whanganui Mayor Hamish McDouall will reply.
The centennial cake will be cut by 94 year old Raetihi resident and living treasure Jessie Seaman.
A long table has been set up for lunch and there will be food stalls. The museum is putting on a high tea. A live band, Bush Chooks and Co, will keep diners happy.
The area alongside the Parapara Highway (SH4) is extremely difficult terrain. Photo / File
Other activities include horse and cart rides, old time games and a chance to look through many of Raetihi's heritage buildings which have been opened especially.
People will also have a chance to write down their memories of journeys on the Parapara.
A tanker and trailer unit poised above the drop to the Mangawhero River on the Parapara in 2015.
Organisers are asking for a gold coin donation to help pay for the festivities.