Pipiriki Village

Pipiriki Village was a major center of the Hauhau movement during the land wars. The headquarters of Whanganui National Park are located here. There is an information centre and museum located in the historic Colonial House where visitors can pick up maps and information for the park.

Several short walks around the village of Pipiriki take you through the bush to different vantage points. Canoes can be paddled through the park on the Whanganui River. The River Road runs from Pipiriki to Wanganui and affords views of the Whanganui River. Along the way you’ll see beautifully restored marae (meeting grounds). Visitors must obtain permission before entering these wahi tapu (sacred sites).

Drop into the picturesque village of Jerusalem (Hiruharama), which was originally a larger Maori village known as Patiarero. Sister Mary Aubert, whose Catholic mission remains there to this day, once called the village home, as did

the famous New Zealand poet James K. Baxter.

The Kawana Flourmill and Millers Cottage is another place to stop. Built in 1854, Kawana was the most successful and longest operating of the flour mills on the Whanganui River. It closed in 1912 and was fully restored in 1978.