Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hawera Central Motor Lodge
MOTEL $$$
( 06-278 8831;
www.haweracentralmotorlodge.co.nz
; 53 Princes St; d $140-175; )
The pick
of the town's motels (better than any of those along South Rd), the shiny Hawera Central
does things with style: grey-and-eucalypt colour scheme, frameless-glass showers, big
flat-screen TVs, good security, DVD players, free movie library and free wi-fi.
Eating
Indian Zaika
INDIAN $$$
( 06-278 3198;
www.indianzaika.co.nz
; 91 Princes St; mains $17-20; 11am-2pm Tue-Sat, 5pm-
late daily; )
For a fine lunch or dinner, try this spicy-smelling, black-and-white diner,
serving decent curries in upbeat surrounds. The $10 takeaway lunches are a steal.
Information
South Taranaki i-SITE
( 06-278 8599;
www.southtaranaki.com
;
55 High St; 8.30am-5pm
Mon-Fri, 9.30am-4pm Sat & Sun)
The South Taranaki low-down. Reduced winter weekend
hours.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Whanganui
POP 42,150
With rafts of casual Huck Finn sensibility, Whanganui is a raggedy historic town on the
banks of the wide Whanganui River. The local arts community is thriving: old port build-
ings are being turned into glass-art studios, and the town centre has been rejuvenated -
there are few more appealing places to while away a sunny afternoon than beneath Vict-
oria Ave's leafy canopy.
History
Maori settlement at Whanganui dates from around 1100. The first European on the river
was Andrew Powers in 1831, but Whanganui's European settlement didn't take off until
1840 when the New Zealand Company could no longer satisfy Wellington's land de-
mands - settlers moved here instead.
When the Maori understood that the gifts the Pakeha settlers had given them were in
permanent exchange for their land, they were understandably irate, and seven years of
