Whanganui National Park

Home of the Whanganui River

Cloaked in dense rainforest, Whanganui National Park has one of the largest remaining tracts of intact native lowland forest in the North Island.

By day, it's the domain of tui, kereru and piwakawaka; by night, the call of the brown kiwi echoes through its wet woods.

From high on the Central Plateau, New Zealand's longest navigable river descends through the park, flowing through deeply carved gorges where tree ferns and rare native plants cling to its steep banks before opening out to rolling farmland and continuing on to the coastal dunes fringing the Tasman Sea.

Until recent times, the Whanganui River was the main route into the interior of the North Island and its fascinating history is riddled with legends of steamboats and wars, water-powered flour mills and poets, the mysterious Bridge to Nowhere, and abandoned homes and farms.

The Whanganui Journey is a multi-day canoe or kayak trip down the river that forms part of the New Zealand Great Walks system.

The best way to make the most of the river is on an independent kayaking trip or with a guide. Look out for eels, native trout, koura and black flounder – you may even get a feed!