This name refers to the death of Taiteariki, an ancestor of the Ngāti Rangi iwi who was killed at a location in the desert in early Māori history after conflict arose between him and two children of Houmea, Tura and Rotuia.

The climate here is harsh and alpine, with close to 270 ground frosts per year in comparison with fewer than 30 in the coastal regions of Hawke's Bay, 80 km (50 mi) to the east.

One account of crossing the desert from an early Pākehā explorer in the region described it as "a most desolate and weird-looking spot... a fit place for Macbeth's witches, or Faustus's Brocken scene.

Turangi emergency services monitor the northern part of the Desert Road, and the NZDF Military Police at Waiouru are responsible for the southern end.

The boundary between the Waikato and Manawatū-Whanganui regions intersects the Desert Road at its summit, which at 1,074 m (3,524 ft) above sea level is the highest pass on the New Zealand State Highway network.