Cutting across the Coromandel Peninsula, this is the gravel road famous for its 309 corners, with someone having gone to the trouble of counting them. It winds through lush native forest, fern-filled gullies and quiet streams, with towering kauri along the way.

The surface is well-graded and stays easy enough for any vehicle, though it can get slippery when it's wet. Nothing technical, just a relaxed cross-peninsula run rather than a quick blat.

Plenty of reasons to pull over. There's a lovely kauri grove walk, swimming holes at Waiau Falls near both ends, and a forestry road up to Castle Rock that turns off near The Waterworks cafe. Then there's Stuart's wild pigs, which everyone seems to remember, though best not to feed them. Some of the side tracks off the main road have been shut off over the years.

Good alternative to the Whitianga highway, and better treated as an unhurried day trip with the family than a quick crossing.