Experience Te Awa O Wanganui for yourself.
 Come here to take time out from the real world. Discover creativity inspired by a rare proximity to river, ocean, city and vast pastureland. With the ancient Whanganui River flowing through its midst, engaging Māori and Pākehā for centuries, Wanganui City is hub of the Whanganui District.
 
Ever since the ancient Māori prophets journeyed these pathways, Māori have maintained a deeply spiritual connection with the land and the river. As you journey Wanganui, you’ll encounter this living legacy in Māori language, culture and customs. Ancient carvings at Koriniti and Pipiriki tell fascinating tales of the ancestors to those fortunate enough to visit a marae (traditional meeting place).  Learn more by visiting a storehouse of treasures, the Whanganui Regional Museum and its collection of ‘taonga Māori’ – ancestral treasures of the region’s Māori. Absorb its magnificent interpretations of river life, and ongoing stories about the Whanganui region.
 
As you do bear in mind the ‘whakatauki’ which embodies the spiritual, cultural and historical relationship of Whanganui Māori with this mighty river they know as their ancestor through its riches. It is increasingly relevant to Pākehā (white settler descendants) whose lives and history are interwoven with the river.
 
From its origins high on magnificent Mt Tongariro, the awa travels towards Taumarunui, then winds south through the Whanganui National Park. Morning mists greet the early riser amidst fern-draped gorges and drift across the water to the wide lower reaches and adjacent farmland to wash through Wanganui and the coastal dunes to the Tasman Sea.
 
For over 800 years Māori have dwelled here, building marae and kainga (villages) on strategic sites, cultivating sheltered river terraces and engaging with the forests. Numerous marae still exist along the river. Names like Ranana (London) and Hiruharama (Jerusalem) reflect colonial influences.