Scenic Highlights

Top Whanganui scenic highlights

Selected highlights at a glace

Wanganui City Heritage Walks

The city of Wanganui has many well-preserved historic buildings. In fact, Victoria Avenue is recognised as one of New Zealand's most attractive main streets. The heritage theme adopted during the avenue's restoration reflects the rich history of the city. Gaslights, wrought iron garden seats, palm and plane trees and wide paved footpaths all contribute to a very elegant effect. There are two city walks that will lead you around Wanganui's most revered heritage buildings.

The Whanganui River

The Whanganui River is the longest navigable waterway in New Zealand and the second longest river in the North Island. Rich in tradition, legend and mystery, a guided journey along the river allows you to learn its history and feel its many moods.

Large areas of intact lowland forest adjoin the Whanganui River in its central and lower reaches. These tracts of forest form the heart of Whanganui National Park. Within this forested environment, early Maori cultivated gardens and built their villages on strategic heights. In Maori mythology, every significant bend in the river has a guardian. Every rapid also has a name, and eel weirs were constructed precisely where the currents of the river converged.

The Whanganui River holds a special attraction for canoeists. The 239 named rapids offer a variety of challenges, however the river is still considered suitable for beginners.

Whanganui River Road

Allow a couple of hours for the 80 kilometre journey from Wanganui to Pipiriki, because there's a lot to see along the way.

The road follows the Whanganui River through beautiful scenery. Places of interest include many beautifully restored marae, the restored Kawana Flourmill, the Colonial House Museum, the restored MV Ongarue riverboat and the village of Jerusalem (Hiruharama). This village was once home to famous New Zealand poet James K Baxter and Sister Mary Aubert, whose Catholic mission remains there to this day.

The Bridge to Nowhere

From Pipiriki you can organise a jet boat tour to the Bridge to Nowhere, an unusual feature of the Whanganui National Park. Marooned in the forest, this bridge was built across the Mangapurua Gorge to provide access to an isolated farming settlement that was finally abandoned in 1942.

Bason Botanic Gardens

Recognised as a 'Garden of Regional Significance', Bason Botanic Gardens in Wanganui are full of colourful flowering plants throughout spring and summer. Walking trails lead around the gardens and the original homestead.

Bushy Park Forest Reserve

Located eight kilometres from Kai Iwi on the Wanganui to New Plymouth highway, Bushy Park Forest Reserve is nearly 100 hectares of native forest. A highlight of the reserve is a 43 metre high native rata tree, which is estimated to be somewhere between 500 and 1000 years old. The reserve is a predator-free bird sanctuary with a very successful kiwi crèche.

The wondrous Whanganui River

The Whanganui River is the longest navigable waterway in New Zealand and the second longest river in the North Island. Rich in tradition, legend and mystery, a guided journey along the river allows you to learn its history and feel its many moods.

Large areas of intact lowland forest adjoin the Whanganui River in its central and lower reaches. These tracts of forest form the heart of Whanganui National Park. Within this forested environment, early Maori cultivated gardens and built their villages on strategic heights. In Maori mythology, every significant bend in the river has a guardian. Every rapid also has a name, and eel weirs were constructed precisely where the currents of the river converged.

The Whanganui River holds a special attraction for canoeists. The 239 named rapids offer a variety of challenges, yet the river is still considered suitable for beginners.

An unusual feature of the Whanganui National Park is the famous 'Bridge to Nowhere'. Built in the 1930s to provide access to developing farms in the Mangapurua Valley, the bridge is the only surviving sign that any settlement ever existed. The farms failed to thrive and the forest quickly reclaimed the track leading to the bridge.

An excursion from Wanganui - incorporating a drive to Pipiriki along the Whanganui River Rd, a jet boat ride and a hike to the Bridge to Nowhere - is one of the most popular day trips available in the Whanganui National Park.

There are many beautifully preserved marae on the River Road. Visitors are welcomed; however permission must be obtained before entering a marae.

The village of Jerusalem (Hiruharama) was once part of a larger village called Patiarero. It has been home to two famous figures in New Zealand history - Mother Mary Aubert, whose Catholic mission remains today, and poet James K Baxter, who established a retreat and commune there in the 1960s.

Another historic and beautifully preserved marae is Koriniti (Corinth) - a popular stop for those enjoying a river trip by jet boat, canoe or rural mail coach.