Old Manawatu Gorge road | Woodville Ferry Reserve | Scenes of New Zealand

R&D Adventures are riding the defunct Manawatu Gorge road where we explore the sights to video and photograph.

[@SpankyRamirez1]

Interesting video, used to travel over the gorge regularly. It's amazing how dilapidated the road has gotten in less than 10 years.

[@maxxamiss5386]

I miss the gorge learned how to drive in a hillman hunter going through there. It was a beautiful road to drive through. Much safer than the saddle

[@r-and-d-adventures]

I agree with you there

[@TeToa-ux5oc]

As Did I Hillman Hunter.

[@user-lr3td8ie3g]

Good to see the old road again, my Great Grandfather helped build the original road and railway and my Grandfather helped to widen the road in later years. My Great Grandfather was also the last toll operator for the Ballance end of the gorge, he was also there before Woodville even existed.

[@r-and-d-adventures]

Wow. That's so interesting. Great information. Thanks for sharing.

[@user-gb6ie5sd4b]

I loved driving through the Manawatu Gorge

[@getahanddown]

This video makes me itchy to go exploring. Awesome!

[@ninaandbob]

Thanks for the ride-through.

[@craigpearce4667]

Great video. Thanks for showing this

[@r-and-d-adventures]

No problem 👍

[@mickwhitehouse7537]

Awesome stuff

[@sjm1408]

Thanks for sharing your ride. Would love to do that one day.

[@PaulLea]

Excellent mini doco, cheers for risking life & limb to film it all for the world to see.🧐

[@r-and-d-adventures]

My pleasure

[@decadenthedonist]

I'm not usually a reckless, trespassing law breaker but I love this route now and so do plenty of others. Cycled it a once when it was open to cars and trucks and it was terrifying and genuinely dangerous. Now its far safer than the heavily trafficked alternative Pahiatua track. The slips have mostly stabilized now that they are not being removed from the road and the encounter probability to rockfall is almost negligible due to the low use during wet stormy weather. This type of closure smells like apathetic risk aversion and low priority for funding walking/cycling projects. The large holes in the fence next to the intimidating signs seem to be tolerated but what a shame this can't receive a small investment to officially open an important connection. Hope your video can encourage some action. Closures are often for quite valid reasons but I would invite the small number of commenters from the "Tsk! Tsk! brigade" to relax about this one. It's really not that risky. Perhaps consider that rules are for the obeisance of fools and the guidance of the wise.

[@r-and-d-adventures]

Totally agree. Thanks for that.

[@bryanbadger6841]

As a retired Manawatu dairy farmer, I've been through there a million times. Well...maybe 999,999 times. Interesting that there appears to be no problems on the rail side of the gorge. Hmmm. Wonder if anyone thought about creating the above ground version of the Uk to France Chunnel. Costs would be to rebuild rolling stock to carry 6-10 vehicles at a time per wagon.Just 6km distance. Job done. Fraction of what it will cost to put the new road in. Aaaah but this, but that...butbut but. Thank you for sharing. Take care.

[@r-and-d-adventures]

Interesting theory. Too easy tho lol

[@bryanbadger6841]

@@r-and-d-adventures not wrong there.

[@user-md2kw5gf8b]

Travelled that road from kune to masterton many times to see my Nan,was definitely a bit scary as a youngster back in the seventies especially after rain and slips

[@r-and-d-adventures]

Same. I know exactly what you mean

[@surfturfnz1879]

I remember back in the days when being told that an American company had wanted to build a mega super highway right through the Manawatu river itself and local iwi stopped that idea right in its tracks!

[@daddybob6096]

Typical.

[@r-and-d-adventures]

Wow. Hadn't heard that one. Would have been a good idea in hindsight.

[@glendafield9797]

Well now i understand why we cant drive on this road anymore! Thanks, take care.😅

[@mikebarrett8681]

We used to visit my dads parents in danniverke every Xmas so got to go through the gorge a fair few times. Us kids were quite scared, and dad knowing this, when it was quiet eg 6 in the morning he would go quite fast, just to make it even more scary 😳🤣

[@youtube7076]

well done , from canada with love!

[@r-and-d-adventures]

Thanks for that

[@tonymckeage1028]

Great Video, thanks for sharing

[@r-and-d-adventures]

Thanks for watching!

[@rrssmooth6643]

neat how you see the road getting reclaimed by nature. Just goes to show the money pit, this road would have been to maintain. Done a good job with that video.

[@harismusic6087]

Typical Kiwi talk. I like that talking 😊😊😊 👍👍👍👍

[@iancurtis1152]

I haven’t heard “ daggie” and “blimmin” for ages😁

[@michaelhenry-hurst2787]

i miss driving it just something about it was sooo chill even thought it was corner after corner bend after bend.... my only issue was people doing 40kph through it when you could do 80kph easy, if trucks could so can cars

[@r-and-d-adventures]

Huh yes, you're so right

[@mrc6301]

we used to go possum hunting through the gorge, about 8 of us all on motorbikes and with guns, min d you it was 55years ago ,lol.

[@r-and-d-adventures]

That sounds like fun. Nice

[@hobocyclist]

nice vid! i want to ride this road

[@r-and-d-adventures]

Go for it!

[@brucesieverts1236]

good on you for doing this, the funny thing is that once the new road is finished the old road will become a cycle track.

[@r-and-d-adventures]

Haha quite possibly

[@jaceNZ75]

👍👍

[@DanielBanks-kv5vi]

Your a cool narrator meke video

[@r-and-d-adventures]

Thanks

[@war1132]

Lets be real no helmets gonna save you from a falling boulder

[@KiwiSentinel]

but perfect against small debris.

[@sjm42]

Did you spare a minute's thought for the imconvenience, expense and potential risk to the safety of other required if you had had an accident or injury requiring rescue while traversing this route?

[@r-and-d-adventures]

Ooops no. Knew of the potential risk but there were so many others walking and cycling on the road that day. Felt very safe having the weather in our favour too.

[@insertthecoinz]

The best adventures are the one that have no thought about anything, but to just enjoy it, and as it turned out everyone ok, right? right :) chur!

[@r-and-d-adventures]

@@insertthecoinz That is how we do things, and thanks

[@montyspearo]

I'd rather take my chances with falling rock than texting driver on Pahiatua track road.

[@NZsarge1]

I still think a tunnel and a toll set up was the best solution, I have to say the old road is in worse shape than I thought it might be in regards cracks in the road due subsidence (the biggest issue) and the size of a couple of the slips.

[@gaylewhauwhau3972]

Trying to fix the Manawatu Gorge was a logistical nightmare and a big waste of tax payer money.

[@r-and-d-adventures]

Oh yes. Glad those days are over.

[@martinfellows9070]

Thanks for trying to enter the Darwin awards to show the current state of the landslides

[@Lazydaisy646]

🙄🙄🙄

[@MrSpliffy3]

That whole area is a dump

[@whynot64928]

Illegal isnt it

[@Lazydaisy646]

All the more fun