eBike Adventure – Five Tunnel Loop

Posted on 30 March 2026

We loaded our 4 eBikes up onto our Plummet Rack for the 40-minute drive north to Uruti, leaving the vehicle in the Bratwurst Brothers car park.  We checked that it was okay with Patrick at the Bratwurst Brothers shop counter first before unloading the vehicle.

Our group consisted of Tony, Glen, Joe & myself, we were all riding Specialized Levo’s and we all had different levels of fitness – but the weather was great and we weren’t in a hurry.

The first section of the loop started with a 9km warm up along SH3 to Mt Messenger, we rode wheel to wheel in a train easily sitting on 28kph.

The trip up Mt Messenger stretched out the group, and the lack of road traffic made for a very scenic climb. You couldn’t hear the ebike motor over the sounds of the cicadas.

We regrouped at the blue block wall (old rest area site) for a quick drink and snack break.

We continued on through the Mt Messenger Tunnel (Tunnel #1). This is the shortest of the tunnels and from a bike you can still see the old high traffic tunnel bypass around the outside.   

The ride down Mt Messenger is always entertaining, you pick up a lot of speed very quickly and you are close enough to see over the edge. 

Back on the valley floor we formed back into our train and continued along SH3 for another 2km to the Ahititi turn off onto Okau Road. Okau Road is a narrow sealed road and runs alongside the Tongaporutu River for about 5km before crossing the river and into the Okau Road Tunnel (Tunnel #2).

The otherside of the tunnel exits out onto a bridge across the Tongaporutu River and continues up Okau Road for another 7km to the Kiwi Road turn off.

Kiwi Road brings the start of the gravel, and climbs up through surrounding native tree’s and with the bird sounds is rather relaxing. From the tunnel, the view back down the valley is rather impressive and provides a great spot to stop for a drink and a snack.  The road climbs quickly for 5km up to the Kiwi Road Tunnel (Tunnel #3). 

The other end of the tunnel as the country changes from thick native trees to undulating open farmlands. Our route continues along the gravel, the odd steep climb makes you feel good to be on an ebike, usually followed by a descent that brings back your inner child.

On this section, just down from the Kiwi Road tunnel there is a gate across the road – obviously you leave it as you found it. Through the gate there are usually sheep to be found wandering freely along the road, and by slowing down and giving them a wide berth you can get past them easily. 

The gravel continues for about 13km – passing the Rerekapa Track entrance on the valley floor. Although it was overcast on our ride, the air was still and you could see for miles in all directions.

Our banter continued as we rode along back in our group, all you could hear was the gravel crunching under our tires. And before long we came to another gate across the road which brought us to the end of Kiwi Road. The bridge as we turned right onto Moki Road was the ideal spot for a drink.   

The short 2km climb up from the Moki Road bridge brings the Moki Road Tunnel (Tunnel #4) to view.  It doesn’t look like much but it’s quite an impressive sight from inside.

At 180m the Moki Road tunnel is the second longest tunnel along our journey with the Okau Road and Kiwi Road tunnels 100m and 154m respectively.

The exit from the Moki Road tunnel gives you a great view down into the Uruti valley and it is surprising how high we are considering how much climbing we’ve done.

Moki Road continues along the ridge on gravel roads passing by huge battleship grey Papa rock cliff faces. With the evidence of rock falls along the route a stark reminder of how route and harsh our Taranaki landscape is. 

Moki Road descends for 5km to the Uruti Road below, firstly on gravel before turning back to tarseal.  Regrouping at Uruti Road, and with ample battery life remaining we turned left and headed up to the Uruti Tunnel.

Uruti Road from that point begins to wind up following a stream beside a steep cliff. Goats can be seen staring down at us while perched high up on the Papa slopes.

Out from under the trees beside the stream the route opens out onto sloping farmland which runs right up to the final switchbacks before the Uruti Tunnel (Tunnel #5).

The Uruti Tunnel is currently the longest road tunnel in Taranaki at 200m. Once through the tunnel we found a shady spot have another drink and reflect on our adventure

The floor of the Uruti Tunnel isn’t level, and actually steepens halfway down on the way back through.

The 11km trip back down through the tunnel to Uruti went as expected.  Gravity took over and we were soon back down on the valley floor, the pace didn’t slow down on the run back to Uruti. 

We were careful crossing SH3 for the short ride back to the vehicle and loading up the bikes.

Finishing off with something to eat and a cold drink at Bratwurst Brothers was just the best way to finish off the ride.

It is definitely worth the trip, and especially with a mate or a small group. (Darryl – Taranaki Trails Trust)