Pahiatua Track to Saddle Road via Ballance Road

Pahiatua track is fairly good in terms of road surface, the first 25 km/h corner is a pin corner so slow right down else you’ll end up on the other side of the road. Occasionally road has been patched so watch out for this around the corners. All the 25 km/h corners you should slow right down for. Ballance Road is a very poor road. The turnoff from Pahiatua track is almost like going straight. There is gravel in a few spots, and in 1-2 spots the road is actually unsealed for about 5-10 metres. A huge amount of potholes especially around corners. Wouldn’t recommend using this to get to Saddle unless you have to, I prefer going to Pahiatua township and using SH2. Saddle Road is generally very good quality, maybe 1-2 potholes. You will often find yourself stuck behind traffic during Saturdays and Sundays as this is the only route across the Ruahine Ranges. Recommend doing it on a quiet weekday, and use the passing lanes well.