Hotels near Wanganui Airport - WAG, Whanganui

Whanganui has a wealth of history. Like many modern day cities/towns around NZ, Whanganui had its hey day at the turn of the 1900s, and as the river became less important for transport and access, the local economy went into decline. However, many aspects of this affluent past have been preserved. Highlights for us included the trip aboard the paddle Steamer (1912 restored) Waimarie, taking the elevator to the top of Durie Hill and climbing the 176 steps to the top of the town's WW1 memorial. Walking around Majestic Square and the modernist War Memorial Hall, made us feel transported to Brasilia, as this style of architecture was lauded by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. We attended The Whanganui Opera House's Repertory Theatre production of Titanic Letters which was a lovely finale to our stay here.

The history of the city is clearly evident in the retention of a lot of charming century old buildings which have been carefully maintained on the outside with appropriate interior upgrades. A ride on the river steamboat and a unique in-ground lift which takes you from near sea level to the top of a hill suburb are other attractions.

Whanganui is a great place to visit. Friendly, great vibe, lots to see and do and not very expensive. I have never had a bad coffee there! Saturday market by the river is a must, as are the parks and gardens, a trip on the Waimarie, the tunnel and elevator, arts trail, beaches, bike trails, museum and restaurants. Heritage Weekend and Christmas Boxing Day are REALLY busy with a ton of stuff on. The Boatshed in Aramoho was our favourite restaurant this trip. Only negative in Whanganui is the AWFUL driving - and we are from Auckland!

Whanganui is an ol'River Port town that still carries that ambience. If you were comparing ol'Paddle steamer towns with an Australia vs NZ type contest, you'd have an Ecucha Victoria or Morpeth NSW vs Whanganui match-up. Whanganui has the ol'Paddle Steamer "Waimere" still in operation & a Waimere Steamer Museum. Don't miss out on the War Memorial Tower & look-out, it's a musta, you can even get an elevator there. All the shops are here for the gals & of course the wife bought a new dress for the Whanganui Races. We spent 2 nights @ the Riverview Motel in a self contained Garden Unit, serenity abounds at this establishment, it's old but still gold.

We enjoyed Whanganui town, but since we were there just to attend a wedding, we didn't get to view a lot of different places. Where we stayed, he wahi pai na te mea he tata ki nga whare kai, close to eating places and supermarkets. Once we got to learn how the streets connected with each other, we could navigate better. We enjoyed Trafalgar Shopping mall, the new Farmers walk-through in town centre, and the look-out at Castlecliffe.

It's very easy to find your way around Whanganui, while there were a lot of cars in the city on market day, it's still nothing compared to the bigger city traffic! Great food places and had most of the usual retail shops.