Desert Road: Highway 1

The Desert Road is the stretch of State Highway 1 between Tūrangi and Waiouru, and it crosses some of the emptiest country in the North Island. South of Tūrangi the highway climbs onto the Rangipo Desert, a high, open plain beside Tongariro National Park, with Ruapehu, Ngāuruhoe and Tongariro in view.

This drive runs south, the way most traffic from Taupō and Auckland goes. The road tops out at about 3,500 feet and then runs down through an army training area to reach Waiouru. It is a trunk road, not a motorway: two lanes, long straights, and open sky.

The same height and exposure that give it the views also make it one of the first state highways to close when winter weather turns. Snow, ice and fog shut it often and briefly, sometimes overnight, and traffic is sent around the park by other roads until it clears.