Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
been shaping its destiny for centuries, with rich Maori history an important part of the park
experience.
The river remains the main byway through the park, well utilised by travellers in kayaks
and canoes lured through the national park stretch by the promise of clear, green waters
bounded by high-sided gorges buttressing dense native forest. This waterborne wilderness
adventure is now known as the Whanganui Journey, the Great Walk that isn't actually a
walk.
This is a national park not particularly easy to access on foot. But the walks that do exist
are popular, well bedded down and maintained. Two of these, the Kaiwhakauka and
Mangapurua Tracks, form part of the 317km
Mountains to Sea Cycle Trail
, part of the
Nga
Haerenga/New Zealand Cycle Trail
(
www.nzcycletrail.com
)
. This four- to six-day moun-
tain biking epic from Tongariro National Park through to Whanganui town will undoubtedly
grow in popularity, as will many of NZ's wilderness trails now being converted to dual use.
History
In Maori legend the Whanganui River was formed when Mt Taranaki, after brawling with
Mt Tongariro over the lovely Mt Pihanga, fled the central North Island for the sea, leaving a
long gouge behind him. He turned west at the coast, finally stopping at his current address.
Mt Tongariro sent cool water to heal the gouge and, thus, the Whanganui River was born.
Maori arrived permanently in this area around 1350. They flourished in pre-European
days because food in the valley was plentiful - it included produce from cultivated terraces,
and eels caught in sophisticated weirs on river channels. At each bend of the river,
kaitiaki
(guardians) ensured preservation of the
mauri
(life force) of the place. Many
kainga
(vil-
lages) were located in the rugged hill country. The numerous steep bluffs and ridges made
suitable sites for
pa
(fortified villages), which were needed because intertribal warfare was
common in this well-populated region.
Europeans arrived in the 1840s. The Church of England's Reverend Richard Taylor was
the most influential minister to travel up the Whanganui River, and numerous churches and
missions were built along its banks. At Maori request, Taylor bestowed new names on many
of their settlements: Koriniti (Corinth), Hiruharama (Jerusalem), Ranana (London) and
Atene (Athens) survive today. The ministers persuaded the tribes to abandon their
pa
and
begin cultivating wheat, especially near the lower reaches of the Whanganui River, where
several flour mills were established.
