The Whanganui River

The "Whanganui River" Website

The Whanganui River is so entrenched in the history of these parts that we have developed a website specifically for that region. We invite you to explore it in greater detail by clicking here.
From Accommodation to Tourist Operators and Places To Visit, you will find them on this website.

It is strongly recommended that you do not leave this region until you’ve experienced the upper reaches of the Whanganui River itself – its tradition, its uniqueness, its tranquillity, and its adventure.................leaving you with memories and experiences that will stay with you forever.

Historic - Te Awa O Whanganui

The Whanganui District is deep in history and tradition. Ever since the ancient Māori prophets journeyed these pathways, Māori have maintained a deeply spiritual connection with the land and the river.

This is the whakatauki (proverb) that defines the Maori people (iwi) of the Whanganui River and region. Translated it means,

‘The great river flows from the mountains to the sea I am the river, the river is me.’

“From the sacred mountains of the Central Plateau, the Whanganui River begins its journey of nearly 300 kilometres when it is eventually released into the Tasman Sea, off the western coastline of Wanganui… along its length the people of Te Atihaunui a Paparangi (Whanganui iwi) have descended for over 40 generations.”

About

The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. Known for many years as the Wanganui River, the river's name reverted to Whanganui in 1991, according with the wishes of local iwi. The city at the river's mouth was called Wanganui until December 2009, when the government decided that while either spelling was acceptable, Crown agencies would use the Whanganui spelling.

With a length of 290 km, the Whanganui is the country's third-longest river and the country's longest navigable river. Much of the land to either side of the river's upper reaches is part of the Whanganui National Park, though the river itself is not part of the park. The river rises on the northern slopes of Mount Tongariro, one of the three active volcanoes of the central plateau, and close to Lake Rotoaira. It flows to the north-west before turning south-west at Taumarunui. From here it runs through the rough, bush-clad hill country of the King Country before turning south-east and flowing past the small settlements of Pipiriki and Jerusalem, before reaching the coast at Whanganui.