Wanganui, also spelled Whanganui, is a town on the Whanganui River in the central North Island of New Zealand, about two hundred kilometres north of Wellington.
Much of Wanganui’s tourism centres on the river, one of New Zealand’s longest, and its national park. It’s popular with canoeists, jet boaters and fishers. The river was once famous for its riverboats, and one coal-fired paddle steamer, the Waimarie, still runs on the river.
After that trip, you might be inspired to visit the Whanganui Riverboat Centre Museum, with displays and artefacts from the riverboat era.
Tramping is also popular in the area, with the Whanganui National Park rich in native bush and birdlife. At Bushy Park Bird Sanctuary, you can explore over two hundred acres of rain forest, see kiwi and saddlebacks, and then have lunch on the veranda of the historic homestead.
On a longer walk, you can see the Bridge to Nowhere, the eerie only remnant of an abandoned early settlement in the Mangapurua Valley.
