The River Road Overview

After a 30-year construction project fraught with floods and mudslides, 1934 saw the opening of the aptly named River Road. Dancing with the bushy banks of the Whanganui River, the road affords the only automobile access to settlements upstream from Wanganui. Defined by its well-preserved natural beauty and enriched by long-standing Maori enclaves and Pakeha missions, the River Rd. seems to be a time and place apart, allowing visitors who linger to gain new appreciation for fluvial life. From Wanganui, the River Rd. begins 15km north of the city off SH4, and winds its way 64km to Pipiriki. From Pipiriki, the road turns east and out of Whanganui National Park to meet up with SH4 at Raetihi (27km), less than 15km from the ski town of Ohakune . If you don’t have your own car, riding along with Take it Easy Tours (a.k.a. the Rural Mail Coach Tour) is a great way to get into the heart of the river valley and meet locals at the same time. The run returns to Wanganui around 1:30-2:30pm, or you can ask to be dropped off anywhere along the way and be picked up the next day. (☎344 7465 or 027 406 5788. Departs M-F 7:45am from behind the old Post Office on Saint Hill St., opposite the Opera House. $40.) Whanganui River Road Tours covers the same route as Take it Easy, but also visits the marae at Koriniti. (☎345 8488; www.whanganuiriverroad.com. Departs daily 8:30-9am, returns 3pm. $50.)

Travelers heading up the road from Wanganui soon see the white Oyster Cliffs, which take a large bite out of the river—a reminder of a time when oceans enveloped the valley. Farther up, there’s riverside camping at the Otumaire Campsite with toilets and water. Continuing upstream, the accommodations get plusher. Omaka Farm 1, 35km north of Wanganui, is another option for tenting along this beautiful stretch of river. For non-rustic souls, a proper bed awaits in the welcoming Rivertime Lodge 3, just up the road. (☎342 5595; www.rivertimelodge.co.nz. Doubles $100 first night, $80 each night after. Tent sites $8.) Those who venture farther arrive at one of the most jaw-dropping homestays in New Zealand,  The Flying Fox 4, 44km north of Wanganui before Koriniti. Truly off the beaten track, it is accessible only by boating down the river or via an aerial zipline—a “flying fox” in Kiwispeak—suspended 20m above the river. Self-proclaimed hippie proprietors Annette and John may feel personally insulted if you don’t gulp down a home-brewed beer made entirely from ingredients grown organically on site. Due to access limitations, only booked guests are invited to use the zipline. (☎342 8160; www.theflyingfox.co.nz. Canoes $35 per day. Free laundry. Tent sites $10. Cottages $90-110. Advance booking required. Cash only.)

A trio of Maori villages stands farther upstream; visitors should only enter the marae upon prior invitation. Koriniti features the never-captured Opeiriki pa, a lovely marae, and the first Anglican church on the river (est. 1840). Ranana is one of the larger villages on the river and retains traces of its past as a traditional center of agriculture.  Hiruharama, once home to a French Marist Mission, guards the grave of the poet James K. Baxter. A convent 1 built in the 1890s welcomes travelers for some serious quiet. (☎342 8190. No linen. Dorms $20. Book ahead.)

Just before Hiruharama is Moutoa Island, from which Maori followers of Hauhauism (a xenophobic religious sect) launched ritualized battles against the tribes of the lower river. Continuing upstream, find the cascading beauty of Omorehu Waterfall. A bookend of a town, Pipiriki is at the end of the River Rd. and is also the beginning for many jetboat rides and walking tracks.