Must see attractions in Whanganui

Spend an hour or two in one of NZ’s better natural history museums. Te Atihaunui-a-Pāpārange Māori exhibits include an amazing waka (canoe), fire-hardened…

The elegant old neoclassical Sarjeant Gallery building in Queens Park is closed for earthquake-proofing. In the interim, the gallery's estimable art…

The pick of Whanganui's many glass studios. Watch glass-blowers working, check out the gallery, take a one-day glass-blowing course ($290, four people max…

Across City Bridge from downtown Whanganui, this elevator was built with grand visions for Durie Hill’s residential future. Beyond an entrance lined with…

The historical displays here are interesting, but everyone's here for the PS Waimarie, the last of the Whanganui River paddle steamers. In 1900 it was…

Across the City Bridge from town and 1km towards the sea is the Putiki Church (aka St Paul’s Memorial Church). It’s unremarkable externally, but just like…

Follow the Whanganui River's western riverbank seawards for 8km and you'll arrive in Castlecliff, a wonderfully low-key beach 'burb dominated by a huge…

Kai Iwi is a wild ocean frontier, strewn with black sand, a ruined WWII gun emplacement and masses of driftwood (you might see locals collecting it for…

A couple of kilometres northwest of the centre, Virginia Lake is the perfect place for a stroll (around the lake or the woodland walk). Aside from the…

Ride the ratchety old Durie Hill Elevator up to the top of Durie Hill, then keep climbing skywards up the austere War Memorial Tower. It's 176 steps and…

Set 11km from Whanganui centre (pair it with a trip to Kai Iwi Beach), these gardens spread over 25 hectares and feature orchids, tropical plants,…

High on Durie Hill atop the machinery housing for the Durie Hill Elevator, there's a lookout platform from where the city views are eye-popping. Climb the…

Established in 1903, astro-geeks will be delighted to know that this 24cm telescope is the largest unmodified refractor operating in NZ. Roll up on Friday…