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Whanganui Travel Guide: River City Heritage, Durie Hill and Gardens Worth the Detour
Whanganui grows on you slowly, which suits it.
It's a river city of Edwardian shopfronts, glass studios and old riverboats, a UNESCO City of Design, and the end point of one of New Zealand's great slow drives, the Whanganui River Road. Most people pass through on State Highway 3.
Stay a night and you'll find a city that takes its art, its heritage and its river very seriously.
Whanganui at a glance
Where: on the west coast of the lower North Island, about 2.5 hours from Wellington and about 2 hours from New Plymouth.
Best for: heritage walks, galleries, gardens, and the gateway to Whanganui National Park.
Pair with: the Whanganui River Road and Surf Highway 45.
View of Whanganui River from heritage steam boat cruise 
Whanganui River Road Highway Whanganui River ebbing its way to the sea, it an instrinic part of the Whanganui
The river at the heart of it all
The Whanganui River is not just scenery here. In 2017, Te Awa Tupua became the first river in the world recognised as a legal person, an indivisible and living whole from the mountains to the sea. The local saying puts it simply: ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au, I am the river and the river is me.
You feel it everywhere in town. Walk the riverbank, watch the rowers, and if the timing's right, take a seasonal cruise on the PS Waimarie, New Zealand's last coal-fired paddle steamer, restored after decades sunk in the mud. The Waimarie Centre next door tells the riverboat story through photographs, ropes and river tales.
Durie tower, at Whanganui lookout Durie Tunnel, Whanganui Sweeping views of Whanganui from Durie lookout
Durie Hill: a tunnel, a tower and the best view in town
Where else do you walk into a hill to get to the top of it? From the river, a 213-metre tunnel leads into Durie Hill to the 1919 Durie Hill Elevator, the only public underground elevator in New Zealand, which rises 66 metres inside the hill.
At the time of writing, the elevator is closed while the council investigates its safety systems, and a free shuttle runs between the tunnel entrance and the top. The tunnel itself is still open to walk through.
Or take the steps.
At the top, the Durie Hill War Memorial Tower is built from shellrock, local sandstone full of fossil shells.
Climb its 176 steps for views over the river, the city and, on a clear day, Ruapehu and Taranaki on the horizon.
Steamboat museum, Whanganui rvier precinct Industrial gritty exterior, Whangaui River estuary and port Sculpture Whanganui River precinct Sarjeant Gallery at night, Whanganui, North Island, NZ. Whanganui main street Pencil sculptures on Whanganui River precinct walkway Art festooned gates, Whanganui Waimere steamboat historic shed Bastion Park, Victorian architecture River port access, Whanganui
A heritage walk through the city
Whanganui was one of New Zealand's earliest European settlements, and it has kept a remarkable amount of its past.
Royal Whanganui Opera House: a white-and-gold 1899 theatre, New Zealand's last surviving Victorian theatre, still hosting shows today.
Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery: reopened in November 2024 after a major redevelopment, with one of the country's finest art collections. Entry is free.
Whanganui Regional Museum: in Pukenamu Queen's Park, with an exceptional collection of taonga from the iwi of the Whanganui River. Entry is free.
The Whanganui Story windows: a series of stained glass windows in the council chambers telling the district's story, from Kupe to Mother Aubert. Phone ahead, as they can only be viewed when the chamber isn't in use.
Heads Road Cemetery: opened in 1841, one of the oldest cemeteries in the country, with graves from the New Zealand Wars and Premier John Ballance.
Marangai (Cameron) Blockhouse: a short drive south, an 1868 blockhouse built against an attack that never came. It spent over a century as a farm shed and is free to visit.
Pūtiki church: a love story in carving
From the outside, St Paul's Memorial Church at Pūtiki looks like an ordinary country church.
Step inside and it's anything but: carved panels, tukutuku weaving and painted rafters fill every surface.
The story behind it is lovely. Henare Ngata met Lorna Metekingi of Whanganui at university, and she told him Pūtiki had lost its church to fire. Henare spoke to his father, Sir Āpirana Ngata, and master carvers and weavers came to Pūtiki to build a new one.
It was consecrated in 1937, and Lorna and Henare were married in it in 1940.
The church is usually locked, so book a guided visit through the Whanganui i-SITE. If you're driving the River Road, look out for more of this beautiful blend of Māori and Christian architecture at Koriniti and Hiruhārama (Jerusalem).
Parks and gardens
Rotokawau Virginia Lake: an easy 30-minute, wheelchair-friendly walk around the lake, plus the Winter Garden glasshouse for a cool day.
Kōwhai Park: the riverside playground with the giant octopus, whale's tail and the Old Woman's Shoe. Kids love it, and so do most adults.
Bason Botanic Gardens: 25 hectares of garden rooms on the city's edge. Climb Millennium Hill for the rural views and the Villa Rustica sculpture.
Bushy Park Tarapuruhi: a predator-fenced forest sanctuary with free walking tracks, birdsong and a historic homestead.
Paloma Gardens: a private garden of national significance at Fordell, from palm and bamboo forests to the cheeky Garden of Death.
Westmere Lake: a flat 1.8 km loop around a wildlife refuge on the way to Bason.
Up the river
Whanganui is the doorway to Whanganui National Park. Paddle the Whanganui Journey, one of New Zealand's Great Walks (on water), take a jet boat to the Bridge to Nowhere, or spend a slow day on the Whanganui River Road past Jerusalem, Koriniti and the old mill at Kawana to Pipiriki.
Whanganui or Wanganui?
Both spellings are official. Whanganui Māori pronounce "wh" as a soft "w", so early Europeans wrote what they heard. The river became Whanganui in 1991, and after much debate both spellings were made official for the city in 2009. Today, Whanganui is the one you'll see almost everywhere.
Where to stay
Browse places to stay in Whanganui on Booking.com.
This post includes Booking.com affiliate links. If you book through them, Best Bits Travel may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Plan your trip
Stay: two nights gives you a day in town and a day on the River Road.
Getting there: State Highway 3 from New Plymouth or Palmerston North, or State Highway 4 from National Park and Raetihi.
Check before you go: Durie Hill Elevator status, Waimarie sailing days, and Pūtiki church tour times through the i-SITE.
FAQs
Is the Durie Hill Elevator open?
At the time of writing the Durie Hill Elevator is closed for safety investigations, and a free shuttle runs between the tunnel entrance and the top of the hill. The tunnel is open to walk through. Check the Whanganui District Council website for updates.
What is there to do in Whanganui for free?
Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery and the Whanganui Regional Museum are both free, as are Virginia Lake, Kōwhai Park, Bason Botanic Gardens, Bushy Park Tarapuruhi walks and the heritage walk around the city centre.
Is it Whanganui or Wanganui?
Both spellings are official. The river was renamed Whanganui in 1991, and both spellings were accepted for the city in 2009. Whanganui is now the most widely used.
How long should I stay in Whanganui?
Two nights is ideal: one day for the city, galleries and Durie Hill, and one for the Whanganui River Road or a jet boat trip to the Bridge to Nowhere.
