Driving the 148km Forgotten Highway (State Highway 43 officially) is quite special.
For a start, it is the only state highway in NZ which is not completely tar sealed. One drived through a variety of hill country where there are obviously highly productive farms, along with others that are challenging.
Around every corner there is a surprise - be it beautiful stands of native bush or herds of goats grazing on the side of the road. A small part of the road is gravel and you even go through a one-way tunnel. The old railway follows part of the road and is now a major tourist attraction. There are few towns of any note apart from Whangamōmona, but that is refreshing in itself - a welcome change from endless takeaway outlets in some places.
Whangamōmona is the capital of the republic of Whangamōmona - a republic born out of anger at the Local Government Commission, which in 1989 decreed that the town should be in the Palmerston North-based Horizons Regional Council instead of the Taranaki Regional Council, which the town claimed it had more in common with.
The pub is the focal point of the town for drink, food, accommodation and souvenirs. The only other shop, which is sometimes open, sports the sign 'Beautiful products imported from NZ'.
Local farmer and well known long-time shearer John Herlihy is the elected president of the republic - fitting perhaps because his forebears come from Kerry in Ireland. His election to office is full of skullduggery and he says it's likely he'll hold office until he dies. Vladimir Putin would surely be jealous of his status!
Herlihy says he got talked into standing for the role when the previous incumbent died. He says it all sounded like a good idea, until he found himself campaigning and his grandkids running around saying vote for him.
"The voting is skulduggery. You can vote as many times as you like and last year they were handing voting papers with my name on them," he told Rural News. "They decided to give my opposition the title of Vice President."
The job description for president of the Republic of Whangamōmona is quite brief - organise the next election and judge the annual kids' pet day. This, Herlihy admits, is not easy when your own grandchildren are entrants and have certain 'expectations' of you.
Election day in Whangamōmona is exciting. They have sheep races, dog trialling, swimming with the eels, shearing demonstrations and possum skinning. A few beers will probably be drunk at the famous hotel to liven up proceedings.
The president has a chain of office made up of beer tops and pig tusks - a lot more interesting than most boring mayoral chains.
"We get about 3,000 tourists in for the day and special buses come in from Stratford for the day. It's all good fun," he says.
