GRADIENTS:
After a short dip leaving Taupo, SH 1 climbs quite steep for 1 km, then rolls to the SH 5/1 junction. Go left onto SH 1, and starts a long variable and rolling uphill. Then alternates between rolling and undulating, sometimes quite long and quite steep, more down than up, but nothing extra special. Continues in this non-descript way until after Atiamuri when SH 1 climbs 5 km to cross Maungaiti Hill (530m), then goes down variably for 1½ km before return to the previous terrain. This time it rolls and undulates down most of the way to Tirau. Tirau is a cross roads town, to Auckland (north) and Rotorua (east) see Section 18a. Undulates and rolls all the way from Tirau to Hamilton.