Whanganui River Road

“E rere kau mai te Awa nui, mai i te Kahui
Maunga ki Tangaroa. Ko au te Awa, ko te Awa ko au.”

"The river flows from the mountains to the sea. I am the river and the river is me."

The Whanganui River holds deep significance to the Māori who for more than 800 years have built marae (meeting grounds) and käinga (villages) alongside it, relied on it for food, and hold a deep spiritual connection with it. The river is seen as a living being from mountains to sea and - I love this - in 2017 the passing of the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act accorded the river the same rights and protections as a living person.

Our experience of the river included a 75 mile journey of two halves, with a surprise stay in a convent midway! Day 1 mostly wet and flat following the weave of the river from the sea at Whanganui, through beautiful forested Whanganui National Park, to remote Jerusalem, a small riverside settlement beside the river. Day 2 sunny and all-day uphill as we headed west away from the river at Pipiriki up to Ohakune at the edge of the mountains.

The convent stay at Jerusalem (Hiruharama) was a highlight. The century-old Catholic church - St. Joseph’s - and convent built in the 1890’s still stands, now empty of the Sisters of Compassion nuns who once lived there. We’d heard that you could stay in the old nun’s dormitories and so cycled up to the convent to try our luck. Unfortunately the dormitory had been booked, but when we asked if we could camp in the grounds, a lady called Baba kindly suggested we set up in the community hut communal room. Perfect, as it saved us from rain and frost that night. In the morning the very polite and beautiful convent cat came to say hello.Leggi altro