Where We Have Been - NZ - Manawatū-Whanganui Region

The Manawatū–Whanganui Region is one of those places people often drive through—but if you slow down a bit, it has some areas worth taking time to visit.

It stretches from the volcanic Central Plateau in the north right down to where it meets the Wellington Region. On the eastern side, the northern part of the region is separated from Hawke’s Bay by the big physical barrier of the Ruahine Forest Park, and further south the Tararua Forest Park does a similar job—running down and spilling into the Wellington Region as well.

Both ranges are serious country: rugged, often alpine in character, and not something you wander into on a whim. But for those who are properly prepared, they also open up a huge amount of tramping—wild, remote, and the kind of terrain that makes you really work for the experience, and in places the views, on offer.

South of Lake Taupō is National Park, home to Mt Ruapehu with its ski resorts, Tūroa and Whakapapa, as well as Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Tongariro, all active volcanoes with multiple eruptions in the 21st century. This is also where you’ll find what’s often heralded as the best one-day trek in New Zealand—and frequently ranked among the world’s top single-day hikes—the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Nestled on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu is the Chateau, which wouldn’t look out of place in the Swiss Alps. Access is via the road Kiwis refer to as the National Park Road, which if you are a rail buff, also puts you in the area of what is a significant engineering heritage site. The Raurimu Spiral is the solution to overcome what was at that time a challenging obstacle, a near 150m change in elevation on the North Island’s Main Trunk.

To the east of the mountains is the stretch known as the Desert Road, where the alpine Rangipo Desert is crossed by State Highway 1—kilometres of tarseal cutting through a stark, stunningly different landscape.

Waiouru, at the southern end of the Desert Road, is home to a major (by New Zealand standards) Army base. With the Rangipo Desert nearby, it also has a huge training area that’s used by New Zealand forces and visiting militaries. If military history is your thing, the National Army Museum is well worth a stop.

Regardless of whether you’ve come over the National Park side or down the Desert Road, once you’re south of the Central Plateau you’ve got a choice. You can stay on SH1 and make steady time heading south… or you can turn west and “sneak” onto a slower, more interesting route that we’d pick every time if we’re not in a hurry: the River Road.

This is the road that follows the Whanganui River as it winds through steep country, bush, and river terraces—the scenery keeps pulling your eyes away from the road (in a good way).

On the River Road you’ll pass through small settlements like Raetihi first, and it’s the sort of place where you can decide whether you want to turn the drive into a proper river experience—maybe a canoe/kayak trip and see the Whanganui the way it’s meant to be seen: from the water, with the cliffs and bush closing in around you. A full downriver journey toward Whanganui, the city, is still on David’s bucket list—one of those “we’ll do it one day” plans that’s been sitting there for years, just waiting for the right time.

Further along you’ll reach Pipiriki, which feels like a natural pause point—stretch the legs, take a look at the river, and see what’s on offer. If you’re up for it, you can often jump on a jet boat from here too—sometimes out to the Bridge to Nowhere—which is a great way to get a taste of the river without committing to days on the water.

You’re in a part of the country that still has a bit of “back of beyond” to it.

Whanganui is a pleasant enough little river city, with a nice waterfront, a well-presented main street, and of course the Whanganui River running right through it. For us, it’s usually been more of a “passing through” place—either on the way somewhere else, or heading home to Taranaki.

Its biggest claim to fame, as far as we’re concerned, is the Boxing Day motorcycle road races held on the famous (and slightly infamous) Cemetery Circuit., which hosted its first races in 1951. It’s called that not because people lose their lives, but because the course literally runs through the cemetery—one of those very Kiwi ideas that sounds improbable until you see it.

Out at Castlecliff, the river mouth and beach feel like classic wild west coast: open to the Tasman, exposed to whatever the weather is doing, and with that rugged, windswept mood that the west coast does so well.

Palmerston North is the largest city in the region and home to Massey University and the former Palmerston North Teachers’ College, now part of the university. Those institutions are what took both of us there in the first place—and it was at Massey that we met.

It’s not a city that tends to make many “must-see New Zealand” lists, but it has played a pretty big part in our own story. When we were there, it always felt like Palmerston North had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the university. The locals didn’t always seem overly fond of students or student culture, but they were much happier about the money the students brought into town. To be fair, that’s probably not unique to Palmy, but it was certainly noticeable at the time.

As a student city, it did the job: cheap flats, late nights, friends, questionable decisions, and fondly remembered early-hours expeditions to get takeaways—not because we hadn’t eaten, but because they had somehow become part of the after-party ritual as we slowly evolved into adulthood. It’s also a handy inland hub, with the Manawatū River, the Esplanade, the Riverside Pathway and the nearby Manawatū Gorge.

For us though, Palmerston North will always be less about attractions and more about that particular stage of life—leaving home, studying, meeting new people, meeting each other, pushing the boundaries, finding our limits, and slowly working out who we were becoming.

A couple of other locations in the Manawatū–Whanganui Region deserve a mention more in light of their impact on Kiwi culture than because of what they are as many people don’t cross over the ranges into the Tararua District where they are located.

Then there was the Tui girls marketing—of its time, and probably viewed a bit differently in these overly PC times—and you’ve got a brand that became part of the national conversation as much as the beer itself.

Located nearby is Eketāhuna, a small New Zealand town that has become bigger in the national imagination than its actual size. Kiwis have long used Eketāhuna as shorthand for “the middle of nowhere”—the sort of place people jokingly refer to when they mean somewhere remote, rural, and a bit unlikely.

Closing Thought: Overall, the real standouts for us in the Manawatū–Whanganui Region are at the northern end: National Park, with Mt Ruapehu, Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Tongariro, plus the stark beauty of the Desert Road.

Once you’re past that, there aren’t really any obvious “iconic must-sees” in the same way some other regions have.