SH14 (New Zealand)

The SH14 starts on the SH1 Whangarei Bypass and heads west, winding through the suburbs and then a semi-rural landscape of small fields and scattered villages strung along the roadside, almost but not quite still part of the town. After passing through the village of Maungatapere, where SH15 is crossed, proper countryside is reached, although this is an area of intensive agriculture and market gardening, with orchards and vineyards hiding behind the tall hedges. The road has been climbing gently for some time, but the gradient increases a little, and the hills ahead are suddenly all around us.

It doesn't take long to cross this band of low hills, and soon the road is dropping down again, through the small village of Tangiteroria, where it meets and then crosses the meandering Wairoa River. After a few kilometres, the river turns away to the south, and the road passes through more gently rolling hills. There are some steeper slopes and pointed ridges to be seen, but the road finds an easier route between the tops. Dropping down again, the road finds a much wider Waiora River, and follows it as it curves round to reach Dargaville. Here the route ends at a TOTSO with SH12 to the east of the town centre.