New Zealand State Highway 2 - Route

Route

This is the route that SH 2 takes in 2008.

SH 2 leaves SH 1 just north of Pokeno, 49 km south of central Auckland. It heads east, crossing the Hauraki Plains before running the length of the Karangahake Gorge, a break in the hills between the Coromandel Peninsula and Kaimai Ranges. From the mining town of Waihi it runs southeast, skirting the edge of Tauranga Harbour, which it crosses on the Tauranga Harbour Bridge. It follows the coast for a further 60 km, until it reaches the village of Matata.

From Matata it heads slightly inland, crossing the Rangitaiki plain to the south of Whakatane, loops south to Taneatua, through the Waimana gorge and then back north to the coast near Opotiki. After Opotiki it turns inland, ascending southeast along the valley of the Waioeka River, then winding up to the 725-metre Traffords Hill summit. From here it descends into the watershed of the Waipaoa River following the river valley from Te Karaka to Makaraka, just outside Gisborne, to which it is connected by a short stretch of SH 35.

It then turns south, passing the Wharerata Forest and the isthmus of the Mahia Peninsula, turning west to follow the coast of Hawke Bay. Close to the mouth of the Waihua River it heads briefly inland, passing the Mohaka Forest and Lake Tutira before rejoining the coast not far from the junction with SH 5 at Bay View. It continues south through Napier and turning inland to enter Hastings. From central Hastings it loses its national highway status for seven kilometres as it is cut in two by the Hastings City streets, regaining that status at Pakipaki.

It continues to head inland from Pakipaki, initially southwest to Waipukurau, then briefly west to follow tributaries of the Tukituki River upstream. Close to Norsewood it turns southwest, a direction it maintains for much of the remainder of its journey, crossing undulating country that forms the upper catchment of the Manawatu River. In Woodville, it meets SH 3, which links SH 2 with Palmerston North via the Manawatu Gorge. SH 2 continues south into the Wairarapa, travelling through Eketahuna to Masterton.

The last 100 kilometres takes it through the small Wairarapa towns of Carterton, Greytown, and Featherston, and then via a winding and steep section over the Rimutaka Range (summit 555 metres) into the Hutt Valley. It travels along the edge of Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt and Petone before skirting the upper part of Wellington Harbour and terminating at the junction with SH 1 at the Ngauranga Interchange, five kilometres away from central Wellington.

Although the Ngauranga Interchange is the official end of SH 2, it is signed northbound as far back as the Mount Victoria Tunnel, 8 km before it begins.