Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au

                           I am the river and the river is me 

These words embody the spiritual, cultural and historical relationship of Whanganui Maori with the river which holds their ancestry, This important whakatauki or saying traditionally used by local maori  has become increasingly relevant to locals of European descent whose lives and history have also become interwoven by the river as it travels on its journey to the sea.

The Whanganui River begins high up in the volcanic plateau of the central North Island at Mt Tongariro, then travels north towards Taumarunui before heading south for 260km towards Wanganui. Its journey to the sea passes through the native tree and fern clad hills of the Whanganui National Park.

The upper reaches of the river are cloaked in dense rainforest and lead to the deeply incised gorges of the middle reaches. Tree ferns and rare native plants cling to the steep riverbanks and morning mist clings to the surface of the water from dawn,  rising slowly with the light of day.

This dramatic landscape opens out in the lower reaches of the river to follow rolling farmland and open valleys to the coastal dunes and cliffs which border the Tasman Sea to the west..