Wanganui or Whanganui

The spelling of this lovely town is always in debate but it is definitely pronounced Wa not the Wh (f) sound as in the rest of NZ. The river is spelled Whanganui but the spelling of the name is left to individual people.

Chateau Tongariro (now owned by Bayview). We left Tongariro National Park after the usual cup of coffee, but not in the Chateau because they don’t serve coffee until 11 a.m. When we went in people were still having breakfast. We were able to take some photos though.

We travelled through some beautiful, but very rugged country which included the usual very twisty and undulating roads. We travelled on Route 4 and there were some very interesting old towns such as Raetihi (see below), which is an old logging town. As it was a public holiday it was also a very deserted town.

We stayed with Lindsay and Trudy who live just on the edge of Wanganui. They have a very large section which includes a high hill at the back. They also have wonderful coffee. It was lovely to see Lindsay (my nephew) after 13 years and to meet Trudy, his wife and her three children, son in law and little granddaughter. The comfortable and warm bed was also very much appreciated! It was truly a lovely two nights and we were very spoilt. Yesterday Lindsay and Trudy took us around Wanganui and we were able to have a really good look at the city and surrounding countryside, which included the beaches, wharves, river, city, parks and a climb up to the top of the Durie Hill Elevator to view Wanganui which was very impressive. We also met Trudy’s parents and spent time looking at the commercial Rose Nursery they used to own. They also gave us lots of information about the cultivation of roses which was vey interesting.

We went out to lunch at Oggi’s which had very tasty lunches which NZ does so well – I had a stuffed pumpkin slice, which included roasted macadamia nuts. Walter had roasted vegetables with wild rice. They were delicious. That night we went out to a hotel, (cannot remember the name unfortunately) where we ate more delicious food. Walter’s dish was especially impressive - lamb en croute on a bed of kumera and spinach.

We are very impressed with food in the NI as it is imaginative and there is a culture of mixing food from different cultures (fusion). They also use fresh ingredients. UK chefs could really try a bit harder and take note of what is happening down under. It does not cost any more money either.